Thin Lines
by SvgeChick
Summary: It has been ten years since he left Hogwarts. Draco now lives in hiding with his five year old son in the Muggle world. When someone he thought was long gone comes back into his life, Draco must face his past and protect his family. Ch 14 up!
1. A Life Worth Living

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of the rights to any of the characters save the ones I have created or to the Harry Potter empire. If I did, my name would be different and you would have paid to read this.

_A/N: I am having lots of fun working on this story, as it is my first Harry Potter fanfic. I am always open to ideas or any comments or questions you want to offer up. I promise I will comment or answer you back, whether it be by e-mail or at the end of the next chapter. Please, READ and RESPOND! Enjoy!_

"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I found!" The little boy shouted, stumbling up the few porch steps to where his father sat working.

"What do you have there, Dom?" Draco reached out and placed him on his lap. Dominic opened his tiny hands to reveal a small green caterpillar on a half eaten leaf. "Oh, brilliant!"

Dominic beamed up at Draco.

"Can I keep him, Daddy? I could feed him leaves and take care of him." He gave Draco his best pout.

"Sorry, love. One day this little caterpillar is going to grow up to be a big, beautiful butterfly. Now go find a safe place to put him down." The little boy frowned up at him thoughtfully.

"Okay, but keep Briseis away." Dominic slid off his father's lap and tottered off toward the little patch of trees by his swing set.

"I promise. Not too fast now." Draco smiled after him and picked up the curious kitten as she prepared to follow and placed her gently back inside the house.

For all of the years in his childhood he spent abhorring Muggle things and Muggles in general, this life suited him. It had not been easy, a rich, smug, talented wizard like himself adjusting to a normal Muggle lifestyle – but he had done it; first for Hermione and then for Dominic.

Looking at him now, playing in the grass, happy and worry free, Draco thought about how much of Hermione he could see in Dominic. Everyone always commented about how remarkable the resemblance between he and Draco was. Physically, Dominic could have been his clone: silvery blond hair, striking, sharp features and piercing green eyes—but in every other way, he was Hermione. His curiosity, his thirst for learning and his general good nature Dominic all got from her: all the good things. Every time Dominic smiled, it was like she was alive again, like she was sitting right next to him.

* * *

_Hogwarts, 7th year_

Draco reached the astronomy tower, breathless, his head swimming. The seesaw of conflicting thoughts in his head tottered back and forth so fast he felt dizzy. He stumbled out onto the balcony and slid down into the corner. He had run away from her. She was pushing him; pushing in a direction it scared him to go because there would be no turning back. He was being groomed to be a Death Eater. He had spent his whole life being groomed. In fact, it was all he ever had, ever known. He had never been good with choices. He had a father that made them for him. Now he had options and choices and his own original thoughts.

Draco had spent the summer deep in the depths of what can only be described as his own private prison. With the war silently raging in the wizarding world, Voldemort had yet to unleash the full extent of his forces. He was waiting; he was waiting for the next generation to be ready. Though he had hundreds of loyal followers all over the world, most of them no longer possessed the stamina and quick reflexes need to battle The Order and their cohorts. Voldemort needed an army of young wizards and witches to back the knowledge and experience of the original Death-Eaters. As his father was fairly high up Voldemort's hierarchical chain, Draco was expected to represent him as such and be the same kind of forceful leader for his generation that his father had been for his. After seventeen years of living with Lucius, Draco spent most of his time wandering along a path of indifference. It was not as if he was doing his father's bidding because he believed in his cause; like many other talents in his life, he was simply good at it. In his earlier years, it had been to impress his father, to gain his approval. Draco had now come to realize his father would never give it. Even when what he did what his father wanted, Lucius' insatiable need for power and perfection bulldozed over any pride he harbored for his son. Despite Draco's growing contempt for his father, he knew nothing else. Draco knew he was naturally mean-spirited and had very little tolerance for the frivolities others his age indulged in. The only things that had made him feel anything close to satisfaction or happiness were school and Quidditch. And the only person he could never seem to beat at anything was Hermione. His grades were excellent, but they still felt short in comparison to hers.

Hermione wanted to understand where he came from, wanted to know what his life was like. Those were things he could explain. When she started probing him about his father and the Death Eaters, he felt trapped on the wrong side of a line he could not see. The shards of loyalty he still held for his father kept him from telling her anything important or useful. Yet, he had realized that night he could not give her a reason. He could not tell her what he stood for or why he stood for it. The more he thought about it now, the less obvious the reasons they were supposed to be on opposite sides became.

* * *

_Present_

In the two years since Hermione's death, Draco had thrown himself into his work. Though the war raged on around them, Voldemort's army waned in the face of constant raids and foiled plans. Still, Draco remained a target, even if a minor one, to the Death-Eaters' well being. He still moved around from time to time, but with Dominic's fifth birthday fast approaching, Draco needed to figure out how he was going put him into school. That meant staying in once place and his confidence in the state of the war was not solid enough for him to feel comfortable laying down roots. He already put them at risk just using the small amount of magic he did within the house and while he was out working.

Draco added a short note about school to Harry on the back of the picture Dominic had drawn for his uncles. Despite their differences, Harry had been very helpful to Draco over the years, especially when it came to Dominic. Hermione insisted on Harry being Dominic's godfather when he was born; and in true sickening Potter fashion, Harry always came through for him. Draco let Dominic draw pictures for Harry, Ron and Ginny to be sent in with his monthly reports to The Order of the Phoenix. Mostly, these reports contained the names of possible members of Voldemort's entourage that were connected to the Death Eaters captured and interrogated by the American branch, The Order of the Eagle. Occasionally, he had documents confiscated from raids and other pertinent information to send along as well, but the wealth of information pouring out of America had slowed to little more than droplets here and there.

As Draco added some final notes on his report, Dominic came back up the stairs rubbing his eyes and yawning. Seeing the gold and pink hue the sky had taken on, Draco realized that time had gotten away from him again.

"Bed time, eh, love?" Dominic looked up at him sleepily and reached up his arms, which Draco responded to by lifting him up and carrying him back into the house.

With a stubbornness all too familiar, the little boy insisted on putting on his pajamas all by himself. Draco let him struggle with it for a few minutes before he laughed and helped him finish. Kissing the picture of Hermione on his bedside table, Dominic climbed haphazardly up into his bed.

"When I grow up, will I be a butterfly, too?" He asked as Draco tucked him in and shut the blinds. Draco let half a smile come to his lips to keep himself from laughing.

"Oh, no. You'll grow up to be something better, something great like Mommy or Uncle Harry."

Dominic cocked his head at him and thought a minute. "Or like you, Daddy?"

Draco only kissed his forehead and turned off the light. "Go to sleep, Dom."

* * *

_Hogwarts, 7th year_

Draco admired the image staring back at him from the mirror in the private Heads' bathroom. The emerald hue of his graduation robes made his grey eyes more prominent and his features sharper. A stern knocking at the door sliced through his narcissism like an annoyingly punctual knife.

"Bloody hell! I haven't been in here that long, Granger. I'm nearly done."

"Come off it, Malfoy."

He opened the door and smirked at her, already dressed in her scarlet robes, hair fixed up in soft curls and her make-up highlighting the softness of her deep brown eyes.

"Stop staring at yourself. You're not that pretty." She smirked back at him, hands on her hips.

"No, but you certainly are." He pulled her inside and pushed her back up against the door with a smoldering kiss. He lived for moments like this. Moments when he did not have to worry about getting caught or what would happen if they were. He often marveled at how thin the line between love and hate really was.

Keeping their secret had proven a challenge, but not a difficult one. They hated each other for so long, keeping it up for appearance sake took little extra effort. Only at night, in the safety of the private Heads' common room that they could let all of that go. When they talked, they mostly talked about the war. The more he listened to Hermione talk, the more he wondered what his life could be like without Voldemort, without his father.

Draco and Hermione composed themselves quickly and left for the Great Hall, making sure to walk a safe distance from one another. Only a short walk down the stone halls lay ahead of them before the clusters of students waiting to enter for the ceremony would appear. As he slipped seamlessly into a group of Slytherins, he smiled to himself as he imagined the look on Hermione's face when he told her his decision. Tonight was the night he would tell her he no longer wanted to be a Death Eater.

* * *

_Present_

Putting some milk and soft food out to distract the kitten, he slipped back out into the dusk to clean up the porch. He added a salutation and signature to his report and placed it and Dominic's picture inside the envelope he addressed to go out. He made a neat pile of books and papers and, placing the envelope on top, carried it back into the kitchen. Despite his best efforts to keep her occupied, Briseis escaped into the back yard when he opened the door. With a sigh and a soft curse, Draco ventured back out empty-handed to find her before the dark set in. She only made it a few steps and made no effort to fight Draco when he scooped her up. As he was about to scold her, he froze.

The trees rustled a few meters away from where he stood. He saw the shadows shift and moved cautiously forward, Briseis in one hand, the other reaching for his wand. He stopped as a figure, robed in black, stepped out in front of him.


	2. The Returning of What was Left and Lost

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of the rights to any of the characters, save the ones I have created, or to the Harry Potter empire. If I did, my name would be different and you would have paid to read this.

_A/N: I am having lots of fun working on this story, as it is my first Harry Potter fanfic (hence the constant editing of spelling and names, sorry guys). I am always open to ideas or any comments or questions you want to offer up. I promise I will comment or answer you back, whether it be by e-mail or at the end of the next chapter. Please, READ and RESPOND! Enjoy!_

**The Returning of What was Left and Lost**

Draco laughed in relief as he recognized the face under the hood.

"Good God, Weasley. You gave me quite a fright. I could have …" He stopped, seeing the grim look on Ron's face.

"What? What's happened?" Ron looked at him for a moment as if he were trying to find the words. Draco spun around as a faint trail of light fell across the yard from Dominic's window. Instinctively, he started for the back door.

"It's okay! Ginny has him; he's safe. You have to come back with us. Now, Draco." Draco stared at him.

"Dammit, Weasley! You are not going to just rip us out of our house with out so much as an explanation." Draco squinted at him in the growing dark. Ron looked at him for a moment before his own frustration took over.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't important. This is not the time to discuss this. And even if it were, I'm not sure that there are any words that can explain it!" The men glared at each other for a moment before they noticed Ginny's presence beside them.

"The portkey is just a few steps into these trees. Let's hurry. The Eagles said they would keep watch on your house," Ginny said, leading the way with the sleeping Dominic in her arms.

Draco followed in a daze. As he touched the old can that was the portkey, a million scenarios ran through his mind. What was so desperate that they would risk bringing him back to England? His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a frightened Briseis, scratching his hand in fear as a familiar street materialized in front of him.

As they walked toward Number Eleven, it jumped aside and the grimy door and walls of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place appeared. Ginny rushed off to put Dominic back in bed and an impatient Briseis squirmed her way free into the hallway as they entered the House of Black. Harry emerged from Draco's left, the expression on his face unreadable. Draco stared at him expectantly as the Order of the Phoenix gathered around them.

* * *

_12 Grimmauld Place, 9 years earlier_

Draco stood outside the study listening to the impassioned voices carrying through the door.

"How could you bring him here, Hermione? How?" Harry demanded.

"Really! You might as well have just sent the Dark Lord an owl with 'Twelve Grimmauld Place' written in a note! What were you thinking?" Ron added.

There was a pause before Hermione answered them. Draco smirked; he had been subjected to that silence—the calm before the storm.

"I brought him here because I believe he can help us. Obviously Dumbledore thinks so too or he wouldn't have given me permission to bring him here. You don't have to trust Draco, but you do have to trust me. I've never given you any reason to doubt my judgment, please don't start now."

Draco smiled at the valiance of her speech. He could almost hear them crumbling in front of her.

"Mr. Malfoy. Please follow me. The senior members of the Order would like a word."

Snape led him down the hall into a room that looked as if it had once been a bedroom. Now it looked rather like a conference room. Six tables were arranged in an outline of the square room; the wall to the right of the door held several magic message boards and moving maps. A dozen faces stared at him as he was led to a chair in the center of the room.

Dumbledore gave him a reassuring look as he sat down—which was more than Draco got from any of the others leering at him. He kept his eyes on Dumbledore as the Headmaster stood up to address the room.

"All right, everyone. Let us begin. Mr. Malfoy, I will begin by addressing you with several questions about your intentions toward the Order and then the other members are to follow suit." He adjusted his half-moon spectacles and glanced at the parchment he held in his hand, before looking back up at Draco. "What has led to your desire to join the Order and its efforts against the Dark Lord and his Death-Eaters?"

Draco sat in overwhelmed silence for a moment, carefully formulating his words. He had expected this question, but he still was unsure how to answer it. So that is exactly what he told them. The timeline of the previous year and a half followed liquidly. He told them about his father and his summer in the depths of Voldemort's hell. He told them, in vague detail, about his relationship with Hermione and his dissociation from both the proverbial good and evil.

"Don't come to the conclusion that I'm doing this for love. I have an innate loyalty to my father, to being a Malfoy. Maybe a small part of me always will. But my previous willingness to participate in my father's dealings came from life-long breeding. I was raised on one side, that does not mean that I chose that side. In fact, I have never chosen a side period; I've never had the option. I am choosing now, however. That's why I'm here."

Draco realized that he was now standing, his chair several feet behind him. As he searched their faces for a reaction, he slunk backward to his chair. To his relief, much of the malice he had seen upon entering the room was gone from their faces.

A short time later, after several more speeches and explanations, he left the room alone. He was met by a worried looking Hermione, gazing up at him expectantly.

Having no words, he only grinned.

* * *

_Present_

An ironic sense of déjà vu struck Draco as the members of the Order closed in around him. He continued staring at Harry as silence crept through the crowd.

"What's going on?" Draco demanded. Harry looked at him with the same pained expression Ron had given him. He motioned for Draco to follow him, and with Ron close behind, they left the others in their wake, entering the door-lined hallway.

"We followed a pack of Death Eaters into Paris last week. They were using the Catacombs as a secondary headquarters." He opened the door to a small office lined with books and potions. "Some of our aurors and some of the French are still down there sifting through all of the passages. One of our junior aurors followed two stragglers out of the city trying to escape with half a dozen captives. One of the stragglers she managed to kill, the other she captured and then brought the captives to a safe house." Harry paused, handing him a file.

"Crabbe and Goyle? They were transporting captives? No wonder they were caught," Draco marveled, flipping through their files. Each had a fresh, red stamp: Crabbe's read 'captured' over his scowling picture, Goyle's flashed 'dead' in bold, capital letters.

"Who were the captives?" Draco glanced from Harry to Ron, who were now making every effort to avoid his eyes. He saw Ron take a deep breath.

"When it was safe, we transported the six of them to St. Mungo's to be identified and treated. Three of them were too far gone from the torture to give us any information. One of them was a member of the French Ministry of Magic. Neville was also among them; he went missing about three weeks ago. And the last of them we've moved to a guarded room upstairs."

Draco noted uneasily that both of them seemed to be avoiding the true answer to his question.

"Well, Potter, who is it?" He demanded, growing more impatient with each of the worried looks that passed between Ron and Harry. Wordlessly, they brought him upstairs to the entrance of the guarded room and he began mentally tallying all of those he remembered were in the Order. The Pavarti twins joined just before he and Hermione left for America, but he recalled seeing them in the mob downstairs. There was that Creevy kid—he was so clumsy, it was feasible he could have been captured. That didn't make sense, though. Why would they risk bringing him back for Creevy?

Harry and Ron stopped before the chipped wooden door and nodded to the guards. Harry motioned for Draco to enter, the anxiety on his face increasing the speed of Draco's heartbeat. With great care, he turned the door knob, debating whether he should continue in or just take Dominic and leave.

Pushing the door open the last few inches, Draco looked around for the sixth captive. A small bundle of ragged cloaks and tussled hair sat huddled in the corner of the dimly lit room. As the light from the door fell across it, a head rose and squinted in fear at the men. With his eyes fully adjustedl his grip tightened on the doorknob. He stood, dumbfounded, staring into a face he never thought he would see again.

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to get this last chapter up. I had a bit of writer's block toward the end. My wonderful friend Sarah (Tiniwiel) read it over and finished the last few paragraphs for me. Thank you, Sarah!

Thank you to those of you that reviewed: Faint Hate, Lynn, tigercatcher, Tiniwiel, pau, nycgrl. I appreciate all of your kind words and support. I know you all are frustrated by the cliffies, but I love them so they will continue. You won't be disappointed for coming back for more, I promise. Please Read and Respond again, all!


	3. Unanswered Questions and a Death Relived

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of the rights to any of the characters, save the ones I have created, or to the Harry Potter empire. If I did, my name would be different and you would have paid to read this.

_A/N: I am having lots of fun working on this story, as it is my first Harry Potter fanfic. I am always open to ideas or any comments or questions you want to offer up. I promise I will comment or answer you back, whether it be by e-mail or at the end of the next chapter. Please, READ and RESPOND! Enjoy!_

**Questions Unanswered and a Death Relived**

"It can't be," Draco whispered. He tore his gaze away and looked back at Harry. Harry only shook his head at him and Draco turned back to the broken person across the room. "How?" was all he could say.

"I don't know. She hasn't said anything since we found her."

"Hermione?" Draco began slowly edging further into the room toward her, but Harry caught his arm.

"She doesn't know us, Draco. She's in a state of shock," he said quietly, pulling Draco back through the door. As Ron pulled the door shut behind then, Draco wrenched his arm from Harry's grip and wheeled around to face him.

"How the HELL is that possible?" Draco stood rigid, fists clenched at his sides. He wasn't really sure whom he was angry at or even to whom he was spewing his questions. Ron and Harry looked at a loss.

"We shouldn't do this here," Ron said, his voice low and flat. The men trailed in silence back down to the office.

"She is dead! I was there. Where did she come from?" His head was swimming, trying to understand what he had just seen. He sat down in a chair somewhere behind him. Harry and Ron exchanged glances before trying to answer him.

"We don't know anything more than what we've told you. She won't speak. She won't go near anyone that goes into the room. She doesn't seem to recognize this place or any of us. Ginny and the other Mediwitches can't get a full sense of what kind of shape her memory is in. Ginny doesn't think she even knows her own name at this point." Ron seemed to be pleading for understanding as he finished speaking. Draco bent his head and massaged his temples.

"I know it's not pleasant, but we need to go over what happened the night she disappeared. Is there anything you can recall; anything you can remember that might help us figure out what happened to her?" Draco shot up out of his seat, his face inches from Harry's.

"Potter, do you honestly think that if I thought for one second she was alive, I wouldn't have acted on it. That I wouldn't have done everything in my power to bring her back? I thought I buried her. I had to watch them put my wife in the ground!" He glared at each of them in turn, their mouths agape. "I need to go check on Dominic." Ron started to say something in reply, but Harry held his hand up.

"He's in the study, on the couch," Harry said, opening the door.

* * *

_Somewhere in America, 3 years earlier_

Draco smiled at Hermione as he pulled into the driveway. She stood in the front yard in dirty overalls and gardening gloves, shielding her eyes from the setting sun.

"Back already?" She asked, kissing him hello.

"By the time I got to the store from the park, he was asleep." As she reached for the car door to get Dominic, the familiar, shrill ringing of the telephone carried out through the open windows.

"No matter how long I live this life, I'll never get used to that horrible noise," he said, cringing with each ring. Hermione patted his arm and turned toward the house.

"All right, then. You get him and I'll get the phone." She rushed up the porch steps and he opened the car door and unbuckled Dominic. Passing through the living, he glanced at Hermione standing in the kitchen deep in conversation with whomever was on the other end of the phone.

He placed the sleeping two-year-old in his crib and closed the blinds. He began untying the little boy's shoes to take them off, but was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream. He sprinted back out to Hermione, instinctively pulling the bedroom door shut behind him. The scene that followed played itself out in slow motion as he looked on in horror.

Draco arrived in the kitchen in time to see Hermione fall to the floor, her eyes wide and her body stiff. In panic and shock, his eyes followed the invisible trail of magic to its origin. His eyes opened wide in fear as the cruel shadow of the elder Malfoy darkened the doorway.

"If it isn't my pride and joy. Draco, my boy, aren't you glad to see me?" The staggering grin that followed his statement turned Draco's blood to ice. He wanted to lunge across the room at the monster; to go to Hermione; to grab Dominic and run; to move anywhere; but there he stood, rooted by the heartless, sadistic glare of Lucius Malfoy.

"What have you done to her?" His voice came out much quieter than he had intended and a familiar hatred bubbled up from somewhere deep inside him. Lucius only winked maliciously in reply and rushed back out the back door. Their property and house being charmed to prohibit apparation to or from it made Draco think he could still catch him. He hastened after his father, wand at the ready. He caught a tiny flick of movement to his right as he stepped out onto the back porch and followed after it. Nevertheless, rounding the corner of the house, he watched in blind panic as Lucius cast a charm and disappeared before his eyes. Draco began throwing hexes and curses out into the lamp lit street. The sudden pop of an apparation from the neighbor's yard echoed like a gunshot in his ears. He fell to his knees, exhausted and defeated. His face fall devoid of expression and his eyes glazed over until the sound of voices floated out to him from the open windows behind him.

He burst back through the front door and the hectic scene in front of him ground to a halt. Hovering in the kitchen in front of a composed, but weeping Ginny and a stone faced Snape was Hermione's body. Waving his wand over it and muttering a few words, the white bundle vanished in front of Snape and Draco lunged toward them.

"Draco! Draco, she's gone! Don't!" Neville exclaimed as he and Seamus moved to restrain him. He had no will to fight them and, instead, just stood securely in their gasp. Snape stalked up and placed himself firmly in front of Draco as he began to speak. His voice sounded distant and muffled to Draco, as though he was listening underwater. He caught something about an alert from the Order of the Eagle and Hermione being sent away for the proper arrangements to be made. It was at that moment that a limp and unconscious Lucius Malfoy came floating through the back door, closely followed by Ron and Harry. Draco's eyes widened and a lightning bolt of sheer loathing flashed across his face.

"You son of a bitch! You killed her. You killed my wife!" Draco screamed at the man across the room, struggling with all his might against the hands that held him back. He stopped suddenly, his knees wobbling as a sensation of blackness and warmth fell over him. All he could remember later on was the taste of his own tears.

* * *

_Present_

Draco sat staring in silence at the innocent, sleeping Dominic. Draco rubbed his hands over his face as if that would make something less complicated, less confusing. What was this going to do to this beautiful little boy? He would start asking questions eventually, just like he did when he discovered magic. _After all, he is Hermione's son,_ he thought, with a sad smile. He shivered as the thought of having her back in their lives ran across his mind again. He knew it was too soon to hope, but he could not help thinking about it. The other half of his brain kept replaying that horrible night in his mind. What had he missed? There had to have been some indication she was still alive. He squinted, straining to take stock of all of the people who had been in his house. _Neville, Seamus, Weasley, Potter, Ginny and Sn—_his thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the opening door.

"How's he doing?" Harry asked, careful to close the door behind him.

"He's still sleeping. He always has been a good sleeper," Draco said, brushing away a silvery blond lock that had fallen across the child's closed eyes.

"I think I first realized that the night Hermione…he slept through the whole thing. He didn't even wake up when Ginny brought him back to our flat. It still strikes me as odd though that Lucius didn't go after him." Harry moved closer to the two Malfoys, looking from one to the other.

"He doesn't know about him," Draco said, his voice flat. "If he did then he would have taken him without hesitation." Draco examined the dusty wood floor below him. "I don't remember much from that night. I remember what she looked like in her wonky straw hat and overalls when I got home. I remember the phone ringing and putting Dominic in his room. Beyond that I can only see the sight of her body laying on the floor and the horrible look on that bastard's face when he looked at me." He paused as his voice caught in his throat. "The one image I can't seem to get out of my head is her body floating in the kitchen with Ginny standing next to her crying and Snape making her…Oh bloody hell, Snape!" He looked at Harry for the first time since he had entered the room. Harry looked momentarily bewildered.

"What about Snape?" Draco frowned, trying to remember the words that Snape had said to him that night.

"He knows something. He has to. I need to know what he said to me before they cast the tranquility charm on me. Get him here."

"He already is here; he's in the meeting room down the hall. I still don't understand wh—" Interrupting him, Draco stood up and started for the door.

"He was the only senior member of the Order there. I need to hear from him what happened. What he did." He did not wait for Harry's reply, but rushed down the hallway to the same room he had sat in the middle of not so many years ago. It still looked much the same as it had then, only now piles of books and papers covered all of the tables. In the back of the room, standing in front of a map of moving dots was Snape.

Without turning toward him, Snape spoke, his voice devoid of emotion. "Can I help you, Mr. Malfoy?" His obvious disinterest in the monumental situation unfolding around him turned Draco's frustration to anger. He clenched his fists, trying to maintain his composure.

"What happened the night Hermione disappeared? What did you do with her after you found her?" Draco demanded, keeping his tone cool and even.

"Were you not there? I told you what happened once already," Snape replied, still not turning to look back at him.

"Don't play games with me, Snape. You're not my professor anymore." At this, Snape turned around, an ironic smirk on his face as he looked across the room at Draco.

"Well, well, well. When did you get to be so assertive?"

"Answer the question." Draco did not blink as he stared at him.

"I didn't _do_ anything with her. She wasn't there."

* * *

Thank you to those of you who have been following this story and have very graciously left me kind reviews. Only a couple more intense chapters like this, I promise. The flashbacks won't always be so depressing. As always, if you have anything to say please leave me a review or feel free to e-mail me! And just as a side note, I have fixed the name spelling mistakes that I'm surprised no one chastised me for, but we're all straight now I think so enjoy!


	4. Betrayal, Heartbreak, and One Spoken Wor...

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of the rights to any of the characters (save the ones I have created) or to the Harry Potter Empire. If I did, my name would be different and you would have paid to read this.

_A/N: My computer hates me and it deleted the divider lines which my friend Sarah so graciously pointed out. They're back now. Sorry for anyone who attempted to read this jumble and was confused. I am always open to ideas or any comments or questions you want to offer up. I promise I will comment or answer you back, whether it be by e-mail or at the end of the next chapter. Please, READ and RESPOND! Enjoy!_

_PS – I went back through the other chapters and added time stamps to the flashbacks that I think might be rather helpful to the reader. Also, just a brief explanation of the significance of the thirteenth floor myth that is alluded to later on in this chapter: many hotels that have many floors do not have what they deem a "13th" floor and many of them avoid having even rooms with the number 13 in them._

**Betrayal, Heartbreak and One Spoken Word**

_London, 3 years earlier_

Draco sat in the silence of Harry and Ginny's study; his eyes stared in the direction of the open window, but did not focus on anything beyond it. He heard Ginny's small footsteps approach and stop at his door with a sigh as she gazed at his unmoving form. He had left the door open intentionally so they wouldn't think he was hiding behind it. A selfish part of him wanted to blame them, to make them see what they had done to him. _Damn them and this wretched war!_ He sat within the prison of his thoughts as they wandered to Dominic. Dominic, who lay asleep down the hall, remained blissfully unaware that when he woke his mother would be missing. Sleep brought with it ignorance and Draco envied him. Had it been only hours since he woke up in bed, his arm draped over Dominic and Hermione as they slept, so happy to be alive? That seemed so far away from him now.

Harry's heavier footsteps lumbered down the hall behind him and stopped next to Ginny, who stood watching Draco in silence. Draco did not turn to face them, to snap at them to take their pity elsewhere. The tears that ran down his cheeks betrayed his stone façade and he sat bitterly ashamed of them. The silence shattered as the hushed voices of Harry and Ginny carried into the room.

"How's he doing?" _Bloody Potter, he always did ask stupid questions._

"He's been sitting in that chair staring out the window all night." Ginny's whisper was thick with tears, for she was the closest to Hermione save Draco.

"At least he's awake. Maybe we…" Harry's voice trailed away as they walked downstairs, leaving Draco to his memories. It was the cruelest thing they could have done. Just as the silence and the memories began to suffocate him, his son's terrified cries carried down the hall from the spare bedroom.

"Ow!" Dominic sobbed over and over again as Draco charged into the room and scooped the frightened little boy up into his arms.

"Shh, Dom. I'm here. Daddy's here." He rocked him gently and tried to calm him. Ginny and Harry thundered up the stairs and burst through the open door. Draco ignored them and glanced down at his son's tear-stained face.

"What's happened? Did you have a bad dream?" Dominic nodded, his entire body shivering against Draco's chest. He lifted his small hand to his chest, placing it over his heart and said just one word, "Ow."

Draco shut his eyes, swallowing the tears that threatened to fall again. He knew. He felt a pain in his heart and though he didn't understand, he knew. A small sob reminded Draco of Ginny and Harry as she too realized what happened.

"It will be okay, Dominic, don't worry. Go back to sleep and it won't hurt anymore." He laid the boy back on the bed, tucking the covers tightly around him. As Draco crossed the room to join Ginny and Harry in the hallway, a small voice stopped him.

"Mommy sing me twinkle star?" Draco turned back, a small smile of regret put on for his son's sake.

"Not tonight, love. Mommy…" His voice caught and he swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. "Mommy can't sing tonight." Dominic nodded, his lips in a pout as he closed his eyes. Draco shut the door softly behind him and turned to face the waiting Harry and Ginny.

"When are you going to tell him?" Draco shook his head and shrugged.

"Tomorrow, I guess. He'll know something's wrong by then." He said it, but in his mind he thought _never_. When he told him, when he let those finalizing words to him, Draco knew it would be real, that she would be really gone. He spoke again, keeping his voice even and flat.

"If you don't mind, we would like to stay here until all the arrangements are taken care of. After the…funeral, we'll return to America. I have to talk to the senior members about relocating. If Lucius found us, the others will follow. Staying here is too dangerous." Ginny and Harry nodded, obviously unsure of what to say. Draco's mind whirled at the thought of moving and he welcomed the distraction. As long as he stayed busy, he wouldn't think. He wouldn't think about how hollow he felt, how alone he felt, how much he missed her. As long as he stayed busy, he couldn't fall apart.

"She wasn't there! What the _hell_ does that mean, Snape?" Draco growled.

"Have the Americans corrupted your ability to understand English? It means she wasn't there when I got there. If you hadn't taken off after Lucius like he wanted you to, you would have seen the two Death Eaters that carried your precious wife away." Snape's face remained expressionless as he watched Draco from across the room.

"You Bastard, you knew! My little boy has spent three years without a mother and you knew this whole time that she was alive? You're no better than my father was." Draco seethed, unconsciously inching across the room.

"Sticks and stones, Malfoy. If I had told you she was alive, the three of you would have given in to stupidity and gone looking for her."

"Of course we would have! We're her family. She was my life and you took her away!"

Draco felt like he had chili peppers coursing through his veins. Though every cell in his body was screaming for him to act, he remained in the same spot.

"You are mistaken in that, Draco. Your father took her away from you. I merely prevented you from hurting the order with a frivolous and hopeless conquest."

Before Draco could respond, Ron came in, followed closely by Harry and Remus Lupin.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy! What's going on here?" Ron glanced between the two, a looked of confused annoyance on his face.

"You explain it to them, Snape. Tell them about how you let Hermione be tortured for years and never said a word to the people that love her." Harry and Ron shifted their gaze from Draco to Snape.

"Severus, what is the meaning of this?" Lupin asked, staring across the room at Snape.

"I can't listen to this again. I'll be upstairs." Draco said, brushing past the three men, now all leering at Snape.

_Washington D.C., Order of the Eagle Headquarters, 3 years earlier_

Draco stood in the Minister of Magic's office on the thirteenth floor of the J.W. Marriott hotel, gazing through the window to the busy city below. He turned slowly at the sound of voices and the door opening behind him. The American minister came striding in, followed closely by his eager assistant.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Good to see you again." He greeted, shaking hands with the exhausted man in front of him.

"You as well, Minister Chase." Draco replied automatically, releasing the man's hand.

"Please, sit. I'm very sorry about your wife. She will be dearly missed by our organization." Chase smiled sympathetically at him and Draco returned the smile meekly, saying nothing. Chase nodded at him and continued on.

"I have called you here today to discuss your future with the Eagles. I know you must remain in America as a safety precaution. Understandably, all of the branches of Death Eaters across the world are up in arms about your father's capture. He was much too close to Voldemort not to be missed." Chase paused, sensing his digression was making Draco uneasy. Shaking his head absentmindedly, the minister continued, "We want you to remain with us as a liaison to Britain, but we want to amend your duties. You do still plan on working with us while you're here, correct?"

Draco stared at him for a moment as he realized Chase had asked him a question. "Of course, sir. What does the ministry want me to do?" Chase handed him a worn blue folder and Draco scanned its contents. He recognized it as a raid schedule.

"We want to promote you from an Auror to an Official. It requires a lot less use of magic; which for the time being will be the safest thing for you. You won't be participating in raids any more. It's too risky to put you around that many Death Eaters. You'll go in after the areas have been cleared and gather evidence and information. You'll compile your findings and send in a report. Once it's been reviewed, we'll send it back to you to add any other information you wish to include and you'll pass it along to the Order of the Phoenix."

Draco didn't say anything at first, trying with everything in him to hold back his displeasure with their decision. Not participating in raids meant no more magic. Chase was right, of course, about it being safer; his using magic meant he could be tracked and he couldn't risk being found again. But without Hermione and magic, who was he? Draco simply nodded at Minister Chase and listened in exhausted defeat to his first assignment.

Draco stared in silence through the charmed portrait that let them see into Hermione's quarters. Ginny was checking on her and unsuccessfully trying to get her to speak. He felt for Ginny; he knew better than any of them what helpless defeat felt like.

"Merlin, this is torture," he muttered as Harry came up beside him.

"Bloody Snape! I can't believe he knew. All this time he knew and never said a word," Harry seethed, staring in the same manner as Draco into the room.

"What'd you do with Weasley?" Draco asked, dryly, folding his arms across his chest, never shifting his gaze.

"Lupin put him in a bind when he lunged at Snape and then he pushed us both out of the room and magically locked the door. Ron's recovering down the hall in another bedroom." Draco nodded and continued staring through the portal.

Several minutes later, both men were jolted from their concentration and watched in astonishment as Hermione leapt at Ginny suddenly. They gasped and darted into the room. Draco pulled Ginny away from the violently flailing Hermione. Harry cast a mild stunning spell at her, catching her before she hit the floor. Fear stabbed through Draco's racing heart as she managed one last passionate exclamation before falling limp, "Malfoy!"

Hey all! Thanks for reading my fic and thank you to all of those who have been reading it. I appreciate all of your kind words. Another thanks to my friend Sarah for writing the first flashback in this chapter and giving me a kick-start to finish it. I must regress back to the confines of college life now, but please read and review!

Thanks again!

Melissa


	5. A Secret Discovered, A Realization Made

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of the rights to any of the characters (save the ones I have created) or to the Harry Potter Empire. If I did, my name would be different and you would have paid to read this.

A/N: I am having lots of fun working on this story, as it is my first Harry Potter fanfic. I am always open to ideas or any comments or questions you want to offer up. Please, READ and RESPOND! Enjoy!

**Secrets Discovered, Realizations Made**

_Malfoy Manor, 6 Years Earlier_

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat as his father sat behind his desk. Struggling to maintain eye contact, Draco sat silent and unmoving, waiting for the elder Malfoy to speak first.

"You were missed at the banquet last week. I'm sure more pressing business called?" Lucius' voice was low and perilous as he spoke. His glassy black eyes bit into Draco as he formulated an answer.

"I went to Rome for a meeting with an informant that proved to be unfruitful to say the least." Draco kept his tone dry and disinterested, his gaze unwavering. Lucius seemed to accept his explanation and continued on. Draco feigned attention as his father summarized the happenings of the past week and the losses of the latest attack.

"I had a fascinating meeting with Lord Voldemort and the High Council yesterday." Draco blinked back his surprise at his father's sudden shift in subject, but made little other outward change in expression. "They are under the impression that you are no longer competent enough to lead the second wave. Your underlings think you've gone soft." His voice was challenging as he disdainfully spat out the last sentence. Draco let the Malfoy in him overtake his emotions and responded predictably.

"Well the bloody council can give my ass. They only want that to be true because their children are a bunch of useless, talent less gits. That is why I am their leader and not the other way around." Lucius' offered him a vicious smirk as he dismissed him. Draco reached the door quickly, inhaling deeply, ready to breathe a sign of relief. Instead he held it as his father's voice stopped him.

"I almost forgot to congratulate you, Draco." Draco's body went visibly rigid as he turned back to face him.

"Congratulate me on what, Father?" he asked carefully.

"On your marriage, of course." As their eyes met, Draco felt his stomach lurch. "That's right you wretched, ungrateful traitor. I know all about it. But I'm going to be merciful, though you don't deserve it. I'm going to let you die first." Lucius hissed. Hands closed around Draco's arms and his wand flew across the room into his father's hand. A curtain of pure hatred fell over Lucius Malfoy's face thicker than Draco had ever seen. It was the last thing Draco saw before a wave of unfathomable pain ran through him as he was hauled out the office.

* * *

Draco, Harry, and Ginny stood staring at one another in stunned silence. Draco had so many thoughts and questions, he didn't really know where to start. He wanted so badly to think that Hermione remembering the word 'Malfoy' was a good thing. Somewhere inside him, he knew that the way she had reacted told him otherwise. The rage and fear in her eyes as she attacked Ginny kept flashing into his mind.

After a several minutes, Harry finally broke the silence, speaking carefully and quietly. "Ginny, love, what were you talking to Hermione about?"

Ginny was the image of composure except for the lone tear that left a salty trail down her cheek. "I started out just kind of mindlessly chatting while I was examining her. I was trying to make her feel more at ease. She seemed to be responding well to it so, after I finished, I started to ask her very simple questions. Things like if she knew where she was, if she knew who I was. She didn't really give any signs off that she had understood." Ginny paused for a second, catching a reassuring glance from Harry.

Draco tried to swallow his impatience as he spoke. "So what set her off?"

Ginny glanced over at him. "Well, I asked if she knew who she was and for the first time she slightly shook her head no. So I decided to start with something simple, like telling her her name. Obviously, I should have stopped at her first name, because when I said 'Malfoy' she…she flew at me." Another frustrated tear fell down Ginny's cheek and Draco understood.

He knew now what Hermione remembered. She hadn't only been tortured for information; if she had been, they would have killed her when she stopped giving it to them. The Death Eaters continued to torture her out of spite, blaming her for Lucius' captivity. His steely eyes darkened with antipathy as he looked at Harry.

"I think I know what happened to her." He sucked in a deep breath as their eyes widened at him. "She knows the name Malfoy because it was in that name that she was tortured."

"Draco, this is not your fault. You didn't know; none of us knew." Harry paused, glancing back through the charmed portrait at the unconscious Hermione. "Look, we're all tired. We should get some sleep and figure out what to do next in the morning."

Begrudgingly, Draco agreed. "Fine, but I need to send an owl to Dumbledore first."

"You can use Hedwig, she's in the kitchen. He already knows about Hermione and by now, Snape." Harry studied him quizzically.

"It's not about them. I want to file a request to interrogate a high-risk prisoner."

Ginny gently touched his arm, vainly trying to change his mind. "Don't do that yet, Draco. It's too soon and it's too dangerous in your emotional state." She pleaded pitifully, but he remained unphased.

"Lucius and I need to have a conversation that is long over due. I'll see you tomorrow morning in the kitchen." Despite their quiet protests behind him, Draco left the room and went unhindered into the kitchen for Hedwig.

* * *

_Malfoy Manor Dungeons, 6 years earlier_

Draco sat in the corner of his dark, dank cell, huddled up as closely to himself as possible. His whole body ached from the curses, the hexes and, his father's favorite, the physical beatings. Every once in a while a water drop would fall from the ceiling into his open cuts and sores, causing his violently shaking body to wince. Lucius' henchmen had gotten very little out of him in their vain attempts to torture him. Their incompetence caused a laughable wave of irony to strike Draco and inwardly he scoffed.

The Order had to know he was missing by now; he'd already missed two rendezvous sessions with Tonks. The cynical, hopelessly Malfoy side of him figured they probably thought he was betraying them. But the side that went totally against his nature, the side that was helplessly in love, told him Hermione would never think that. It was the first real test of trust and loyalty on all sides.

Draco concentrated on Hermione as he waited in his screamingly silent cell. It was charmed so that he couldn't hear anything, not even his own voice. The dungeons were kept dark, so he could see very little but shadows and black shapes. The Death Eaters that guarded them fed him just enough to keep him lucid and alive. He had become used to the rancid smell of both the food and his horrid surroundings. More than anything, he wanted to be touched. To be touched by the soft, understanding hands of the wife he hadn't seen since they married. Draco had never understood what it meant to need, until he needed, with unsympathetic passion, Hermione and everything she represented. Gradually, as he thought about her and all of the good things she brought to his life, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Draco woke several hours later to an unexpected site. Though he couldn't hear anything, his eyes shifted around with the lights and shuffling bodies outside his cell. Rapid flashes of light and shapes moved back and forth chaotically. Mustering all of the strength he had left in him, he sprang to the bars and stood, desperately trying to hear any part of what was happening outside. Suddenly, he was thrown viciously back as the bars were ripped away.

Draco groaned and tried to lift himself back up, but all of his strength seemed gone. He did manage to sit up, leaning heavily against the damp stone. A dozen blindingly lit wands greeted his eyes. He couldn't see any of their faces, even as his eyes began to adjust. He heard a familiar voice mumble 'nox' and the figure moved toward him.

"Draco? Are you all right?" Hermione's face came into focus in front of him. The enormity of what had just happened had left him dumbfounded and he found himself unable to speak. With all the remained in him, he pulled her to him. She responded with equal vigor, making him feel the safest he had ever felt.

* * *

Draco woke the next morning to Hedwig nipping gently at his ear. Sluggishly, he sat up and leaned back against the sofa. He had slept on the floor in the study, not wanting Dominic to wake up in a strange place without him. Obviously his worries were unfounded judging by the empty sofa behind him and the laughter drifting in with the scent on sausage from the kitchen.

Draco thanked Hedwig with an appreciative ruffling of her snowy feathers and took the letter from her. She gave him one last affectionate nip and flew back out toward the kitchen. Quickly, he ripped through the Hogwarts seal and mumbled the message to himself.

_Greetings Mr. Malfoy! It is good to hear from you, though I am sorry it had to be under such strenuous circumstances. I would like to meet with you today to discuss your request. Remus Lupin has secured a floo for you to take into my office at exactly 11:30 this morning. I look forward to your visit. Please give my best to Dominic._

_Cordially,_

_A. Dumbledore_

Draco folded the letter hastily and stuffed it into his pants pocket as he stood up. He used the decorative mirror by the fireplace to smooth out his tangled hair and wrinkled clothes before venturing out into the kitchen. The smell was making his stomach churn with hunger.

As he entered, half a dozen familiar faces greeted him. He smiled at Dominic, who sat blissfully stuffing bits of waffle and sausage into his mouth. Draco mumbled 'good morning' and gave Dominic a kiss on the forehead.

"Daddy, you should try some of Uncle Harry's waffles. They're yummy!" the little boy grinned, shoving another handful of syrupy waffles into his mouth.

"Ok, buddy. I will." Draco grabbed a plate and meagerly filled his plate. Taking a seat across from Harry, he pretended to concentrate on his waffle.

As everyone ate, no one really said much to each other. Luckily, Dominic didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary and the others seem to enjoy the distraction he brought.

"Draco, I hate to rush you, but we only have a few minutes." Draco nodded at Lupin as the haggard man turned and walked back into the hallway. Ginny read his mind as he looked back at her.

"Dom will be okay here. The Eagle's sent some of your things this morning. I put them in one of the spare bedrooms. I think I remember seeing a few toys included in there as well."

"Thank you. I'm not sure how long I'll be, but I'll send word if I need to." Draco got up and cleared his and Dominic's plates. "Be good for Aunt Ginny, Dom. I'll be back in a little while." Draco said, kneeling down to clean off the little boy's sticky face and hands. When he finished, Dominic jumped into his arms for a hug he gratefully accepted.

With one last goodbye, Draco made the familiar trek down the hallway into the meeting room.

"It's all set up. Dumbledore has the details for your return trip arranged as well." Lupin stated, holding out the bowl of floo powder to him.

"Thank you, sir." Draco replied, taking a handful of the colored ash. Lupin only nodded and stepped back.

Draco took a deep breath and threw the floo powder into the flames in front of him. As he stated his destination, the room disappeared into a whirl of wind and color, passing fireplace after fireplace. Then, all at once, it was over and Draco stumbled into the grand office of the Headmaster. He dusted himself off and took a seat in the chair in front of the desk. He sighed, thinking about the day that lay ahead of him.

* * *

Hey all! I know it took me a little longer than it has been to get this chapter up, but I had to force myself to update my Alias story first. First, a thank you to all of you who have been reading and reviewing this story, I appreciate it! I know this one didn't end with my usual cliffy, but if I kept going I'd be giving too much of the next chapter away. Please read and respond and as always, feel free to be candid.

Thanks!

Melissa


	6. Coming Around Full Circle

Hey all! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. What can I say, college sucks sometimes. Anyway, this is the longest chapter I've written so far so I'm hoping it makes up for it. You can all look forward to more Draco/Hermione interaction in the present in a couple of chapters. I'm almost done with all of this exposition stuff. Hope you enjoy and please review!

_Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing. Otherwise I'd have a helluva lot more money in the bank._

**Coming Around Full Circle**

Draco glanced up at the waiting Dumbledore. A warm smile flitted across the man's face as Draco greeted him.

"Mr. Malfoy. Please, sit down. We have much to discuss." Draco nodded, brushing the last of the soot off of his faded jeans and emerald turtleneck.

"I must confess that I was not surprised by your request, but I didn't think I would see it this soon." The aged man's intelligent eyes studied him as he waited for Draco to speak.

"I feel it is necessary to speak with my father before I can focus on the situation at hand. My father obviously had a plan for Her—Hermione." Draco swallowed hard and inhaled at the wave of emotion that hit him. "We need to know what that plan was so that maybe we can discern what she went through." Draco folded his arms casually across his chest and waited for a response. He could see the wheels turning behind Dumbledore's eyes. Draco realized as he looked back at him how frail his former Headmaster had become in the years since his days at Hogwarts. His shoulders were hunched from years of strain on his frail bones; the only parts of Dumbledore that remained the same were his twinkling, intelligent eyes.

"While I share your need for explanation, you must know that Lucius does not speak. Just once during his captivity have we gotten any information out of him, and even then it was irrelevant and out dated." Draco shifted in his seat, trying to hide his distaste with the inefficiency of their interrogation techniques.

"With all due respect, Professor, I know my father. He will never be able to be in the same room with me and not say anything. I'm the person he hates the most…I'm the reason he is where he is." Draco fixed his eyes on the floor, feeling Dumbledore's contemplative gaze.

With a sympathetic sigh, Draco could see Dumbledore's nod of consent out of the corner of his eye. "All right, Draco. I will allow this interrogation, but only on several conditions." Draco nodded, his skin tingling at the thought of seeing his father. "It would be foolish of me to disarm you, though under the delicate circumstances with which I am allowing you to do this, you must only use your wand if absolutely necessary. I'm sure you want to do this interrogation alone, and I will let you do so. However, there will be a guard both inside and just outside. And the final condition, I cannot stress enough," Dumbledore leaned forward as if he were about to divulge a dire secret. "It is of the utmost importance that you maintain your temper and your self-control. The guards will have strict instructions to remove both of you immediately at the first sign of any dangerous misconduct. Are we in agreement?" A knot of irrational anger manifested in his throat at the harsh truth in Dumbledore's words.

Quickly swallowing his pride, Draco nodded his head in agreement, understanding that Dumbledore could very well have told him no. "We are, sir."

The smile returned to Dumbledore's eyes as he spoke again. "It may take near an hour to prepare Lucius and the interrogation room. You can wander the grounds while you wait, if you like. I'm afraid I don't get around the castle as often as I used to, but Professor McGonagall will find you when everything is ready. She'll take you down to the dungeons once everything is set." Dumbledore stood and Draco followed suit. As the men wound around the spiral staircase to the hallway below, Draco knew exactly where he needed to go.

_Hogwarts Cemetery, 5 years earlier_

Draco stood in the shadows, gazing out across the moonlit garden of gravestones in front of him. He leaned against the largest of the monuments that watched stoically over its patrons, sighing impatiently. He kept his eyes fixed on the stretch of field between the Hogwarts castle and the cemetery, waiting for Hermione to come into view.

Once a week, he met her here; it was the only place they knew would be safe. Despite their frequent visits while Harry Potter attended the school, most Death Eaters avoided the Hogwarts grounds when at all possible; their powers were uncomfortably limited within the confines of the magically protected grounds. As far as the students were concerned, the cemetery was a place to be avoided. Far too many stories floated from student to student about the unearthly characters that frequented such a place. Draco smirked as he recalled how many of those he was responsible for creating during his own years as a student. That time seemed so far away from them now.

Draco flinched, interrupting his thoughts. He shivered in recognition as Hermione's hands slid gently around his waist from behind.

"Draco, love, you're losing your touch," Hermione whispered, setting her chin on his shoulder. Draco responded by grabbing her hands and leaning his head against hers.

"Only because I knew it was you." He spun around and wrapped her in a warm tight hug. She pulled back after a few moments and smiled up at him. "Hi."

Draco returned her smile and caught her greeting with his lips, giving her a slow and gentle kiss. Pulling away, he leaned his forehead against hers and Hermione gazed back at him, a light of concern in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" She leaned back a few inches to get a better look at his face. Draco just shook his head at her.

"I can't do this anymore, Hermione. Pretending to be something I'm not; meeting you at all hours of the night in a cemetery." He studied her face and saw the look of confusion that came across it.

"Can't do what anymore? Be with me? Because that's what it sounds like you're saying." Hermione's tone fell as she pushed herself out of his arms and stood in front of him.

"Of course not. Never. I can't leave my head with my father and my heart with you. It just stretches me too far. You'll never know the things I've seen these past few years. I can't go back to him." Draco's voice caught in his throat and he looked away from her. He felt the heat radiating off of her body as Hermione stepped closer, placing her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look back at her.

"Draco, you know that I'll support whatever decision you make. I know I can't imagine what you go through while you're away. I just want you to be absolutely sure that this is what you want because it changes everything." Draco swallowed hard and nodded at her as she continued. "It's not going to be easy to pull you out of there. I can't see anyway that we can without exposing you as a traitor. We should talk to Dumbledore and Lupin, I'm sure they'll…" The rest of her sentence was lost in the urgency of Draco's embrace as he grabbed Hermione and pulled her tightly against him.

"I love you. You know that, right?" He said, pulling back to look at her. Hermione smiled at him and nodded. "Marry me." Draco saw a shadow of worry replace her smile.

"What? Draco…"

Draco gently pressed his fingertips over her lips. "Just hear me out. I know the dangers and the sacrifices we'll have to make. I know it won't be easy, but when has it ever been easy for us? I'd rather be a traitor married to you than a spy at my father's right hand." Draco studied her face and she took his hand. Her expression was unreadable.

"Okay." Hermione looked up at him and grinned.

_Present_

Walking in his desired direction, Draco took his time. It was a cool and breezy spring day, but the sun was shining and the sky was a clear, crisp blue. He stared up at it as he walked. Though it had been years since he had set foot on the Hogwarts grounds, he still knew his way around just as well. The cemetery came into view in front of him as he lowered his head from the sky and he winced at the flood of images that flashed in his mind. He shook them away as he stopped in front of the familiar gray stone. It still looked the same as he remembered it, though now a few shades darker with the dirt of time. He stood staring at the gravestone for several minutes before sitting down on the patch of lush grass in front of it.

Draco reached out tentatively and traced the hollowed out letters scrawled neatly across it, mumbling the words to himself:

'Hermione Jane Malfoy

1979-2004'

A sad smile spread across his face as his fingers reached the inscription at the bottom.

'The brightest witch of her age defended her family and

friends with her life and continues to protect them in death.'

He almost wished it were true. At least the Hermione he buried knew who he was, knew who she was.

"Those words are still true, Draco." A familiar voice said from behind him. Draco did not turn to look at Lupin as he sat down next to the gravestone facing him.

"I wish I could believe that. But now it's like she never even existed." He could feel Lupin's eyes studying him. Draco looked down at the grass.

"Of course she existed. You have the memories and that wonderful little boy to prove it." Draco lifted his head and stared at the haggard man across from him.

"Where did she go? Where did _my_ Hermione go? Because the woman the Order has, that is NOT Hermione," Draco paused, taking a deep breath. "What if she never remembers?"

"We have to accept that she may never come back to us, but don't give up on her. Even if she never gets her memory back, she's still the only Hermione we have." Lupin gazed out across the lake behind them and Draco nodded in half-hearted agreement. Glancing back toward the castle, he could see the deep green robes of Professor McGonagall as she waved at them to come in.

"They're ready for you." Lupin said, using the stone to push himself up. Draco let his eyes linger one last time on the gray stone in front of him and followed suit.

"Are you coming?" Draco glanced back at the castle toward McGonagall.

"No, I think I'll take a walk around the grounds and enjoy the daylight. Good luck, Draco." Lupin gave Draco's shoulder an affectionate pat and walked in the opposite direction of the castle. Taking a deep breath, he began mentally preparing himself for the confrontation that was soon to come.

_British Ministry Headquarters, 2 years earlier_

Draco loosened his tie as he waited in the musty hallway outside the trial room. He forced a smile as Dominic came tottering toward him, closely followed by Ginny and Hermione's mother, Jane.

"Daddy!" The little boy exclaimed, one tiny hand rubbing his eye, the other reaching up at Draco. Draco lifted him up and the tired baby snuggled into his father's shoulder.

"Oh, it must be getting close to nap time, huh, love?" Draco asked, kissing the child's nose. Dominic continued to rub his eyes in response.

"He's had a busy day. Ginny was kind enough to show us the mystical creatures the Ministry just brought in from Scotland," Jane said, smiling sweetly at Ginny.

"What's going on, Draco? Has anyone come out yet?" Ginny asked, reaching up to rub Dominic's back.

"The American Ministry has set up a house for us in Northern California. We leave tomorrow morning for Washington, D.C. I have to meet with Minister Chase to finalize the arrangement." Draco glanced between the two women and then at the sleeping Dominic. "They're going to let me go in for the verdict. Lupin is going to come out and get me when they're ready." Ginny nodded and Draco looked back at Jane. "Do you want to come in, too?"

"No, I'll just stay out here with Dominic. I'm still learning about all these wizarding laws, but you'll have to pardon me for saying that I hope your father never sees daylight again." Draco swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he watched a single tear make its way down his mother-in-law's cheek. "I'm just glad Hermione's father didn't live long enough to go through this."

"I trust that my father will get what he deserves. Unfortunately, we're not the only people he's hurt over the years. The Ministry's punishments can be worse than death." The three stood in awkward silence for a few moments until Jane spoke.

"I must tell you, Draco, no one blames you for anything that's happened." Her gaze made Draco look away.

"I know that."

"Do you, really? I don't think that you believe that." Jane stooped down a little bit, looking her son-in-law directly in the eye.

"She left her life behind for me: her friends, her family, all of it. She never would have been in danger if she hadn't married me." Draco raised his head and returned her gaze.

"Oh, Draco. Of course she would have. Hermione was a fighter. She chose you, against rather desperate pleas, I might add. She chose the life she had, as did you. You both made impossible sacrifices for the sake of your cause and your love. Not to mention, you both brought my grandson into this world. I'll never be sorry about that." She reached up and patted Dominic's back affectionately, giving Draco a knowing look.

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do without her." Draco's voice broke and he swallowed hard.

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but the creak of the door caused all three of them to turn toward it.

"Moody is about to read the verdict. I've saved you a seat up front," Lupin said. Draco and Ginny nodded in unison.

"Here, let me take him. You two go. We'll be waiting for you when you're done." Jane reached out and pulled Dominic from Draco, careful not to wake him. With a simple 'thank you,' Draco turned, offering his arm to Ginny and they walked into the trial room.

All the higher members of the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix sat in a neat row behind a table facing them as they took their seats. It took everything he had not to look at his magically bound father off to the side of the room, waiting for his fate to be read. Harry nodded at them as they sat down, Ginny taking one hand from each of them in her own as they watched Moody rise. Draco took a deep breath and held it as Moody began to speak.

"We, the Ministry of Magic with the combined efforts of the Order of the Phoenix, have reached what we deem a fair and just punishment for the heinous crimes committed by Lucius Malfoy." He paused and Draco released part of the breath he had been holding. "For the many counts of treason against this council, for the many people tortured and murdered since the days the second war began, and most recently, for the murder of Hermione Malfoy, we sentence the accused to a lifetime of imprisonment. He is to be stripped of his wand and his powers will be permanently bound. He will spend the rest of his days in a solitary cell under the Ministry's highest-level security with no chance of ever being released. That is our final decision." Moody took his seat as the crowd erupted in a variety of cheers and threats. Draco accepted the hug from the quietly weeping Ginny. He let go suddenly as he got a distant glimpse of his mother.

She was sitting rigidly in a chair across the room, staring at his father being taken away. He could not read the emotions on her face, but for a moment he wanted to go to her. Narcissa Malfoy may not have the best mother, but she was the only family he had left besides Dominic. A small part of him would never be able to forget that. Ginny shook his shoulders gently and he looked back at her "I'm fine. Let's get Dominic out of here before any trouble starts."

"That's a good idea. I know the back way out of here. We'll walk you out." Harry said, leading both of them back through the doors.

Draco barely shook his head in an affirmative response, finally turning to take one last look at his father. The elder Malfoy floated limply, but consciously, next to two Ministry guards readying him for transport, reminding Draco of how he had looked only a few nights before when he floated into his kitchen. For a moment that burned itself into Draco's mind forever, the two Malfoy men locked eyes. Draco found himself unable to break the gaze even as Harry began half-dragging him from the room. Just before the doors closed behind them, he saw his father's bruised and dirty face contort in the most evil grin he had ever seen cross his lips as he mouthed one word to Draco, "Someday."

_Present_

In the years before the British Ministry integrated with the Order, the elder members had to create their own judgment system as well as their own prison. Now that both sides coexisted peacefully, the original secret prison the Order built under Hogwarts housed the highest risk prisoners.

Draco followed McGonagall as she led him deep into the dungeons of Hogwarts to the secret entrance into the prison. To keep the area well hidden, the entrance was constantly moved and only the highest member of the Ministry and the Order knew where. Draco studied the grimy walls of the dungeon as they went, observing how little they had changed. Condensation still dripped aimlessly down the cold, stone walls and the air was still uncomfortably thick and wet.

McGonagall stopped in front of him and he had to catch himself to keep from crashing into her. He recognized the statue as that of Heinric the Horrible, his least favorite statue because of the way his eyes always seemed to follow him as he walked past it. She spoke an ancient incantation and with a flick of her wand the statue swung aside, revealing another dungeon hallway lined with thick steel doors.

"Now listen carefully, Draco. I know that the headmaster has spoken to you about this, but for the sake of my own conscience, I must impress upon you again the delicacy with which you must handle this interrogation. I won't risk the sanctity of this institution for any frivolities. This is an impossible situation, but stick to the matter at hand. Don't focus on anything but the present, no matter how difficult that may seem." McGonagall crossed her arms over her chest to punctuate her speech as he had seen her do many times.

"I understand the depth of this situation well, Professor. I will do my best to comply with all of the Headmaster's conditions." McGonagall glared at him for a moment as if she were trying to figure him out with a glance. Finally, her face relaxed and she nodded.

"All right, then. Follow me please." Draco obeyed once McGonagall continued past him down the hallway. "Lucius Malfoy has already been placed inside this room. He is bound heavily and has just enough freedom of movement to speak. I'll be just down the hallway waiting for you to finish. Have one of the guards notify me when you're ready to go back upstairs to Dumbledore's office. He'll want to know what information you discover."

Professor McGonagall nodded to the guard in front of the heavy steel door and he proceeded to unlock the many magical and non-magical locks preventing his entry. Finally he stepped aside and the door creaked itself open. Draco sucked in a ragged breath, realizing that his 'someday' had finally arrived.


	7. Family Reunion

Disclaimer: To my dismay, Harry Potter is still not mine, now Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton on the other hand…

_A/N: Does anyone still read this story besides my good buddy Sarah? No one ever shares the love anymore. And besides, it's much more motivational to the writer when they know that people appreciate and enjoy their work. It makes me update faster. Thanks to fanficfan4life, Tiniwiel and Addellyn (a dedicated reader from fictionalley) for their kind reviews and input on the last chapter._

**Family Reunion**

Draco eased himself into the small, dimly lit room in front of him. He flinched as the guard closed the door behind him with a sharp _slam. _The cold, stale air closed in around him as he studied his new surroundings. A guard almost identical to the one stationed outside the room stood a few feet away in the corner and his father had been placed in the center of the room on a steel chair.

Lucius Malfoy had not changed much in the years since Draco had seen him last. His hair was still the same sharp blond as Draco's, though now it was much shorter than Draco had ever remembered it being. The clothes he wore were simple, black and rather filthy. Great, dark circles sagged under the elder Malfoy's eyes and there were black smudges on his pale skin. The image burned itself into Draco's brain as the way he would always remember his father: broken and alone.

Draco nodded once to the guard in the corner, who stepped forward to rouse the unconscious man with an incantation Draco recognized from his work in the Order. Slowly, movement returned to Lucius' neck and face and his piercing eyes opened directly at Draco.

"Well, well, well. You have more of a spine than I ever would have thought possible, Draco." The groggy, daring voice of his father echoed in his ears, but Draco remained still and silent. "Come to view the spectacle? Come to see what has become of your dear, old father?" A sneer twisted on Lucius' lips and he glared up at Draco.

"I've come for information. I have no interest beyond that in you," Draco replied with little inflection.

"Information? I've been rotting in here for over two years. I don't have any new information," Lucius spat, continuing to hold his stare.

"I'm not looking for new information. You should know better than that. You should know exactly why I'm here." At Draco's words, the elder Malfoy's mouth turned up in a knowing, cruel smile. Draco swallowed his anger at the twisted sight and continued. "Let's start with this: how did you find us?"

Lucius shook his head in disgust. "And you were going to be our great leader one day. Pitiful. You're not asking the right question. How we found you is irrelevant." He craned his neck in discomfort, never breaking eye contact with his son.

Draco squinted down at him for a moment. "Don't play games with me, Lucius. Why did you find us? What were you really doing?"

Draco could almost see the gears turning in his father's head as he formulated an answer. "Now that's a better question. Still not acceptable, but better. You used to be such a clever boy, Draco."

Draco could feel the muscles clenching down his back as he tried to remain calm and collected. "You used to be rich and powerful. Let's not dwell on what we used to be. Just answer the question. What were you doing at my house?" Draco crossed his arms loosely across his chest to keep from fidgeting as he waited for an answer.

"Which time do you mean?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. Draco's eyes widened.

"You'd been there before that night? How many times?" Draco could feel his heart start to race as he thought of all the times his father could have been right there watching them and he had never even sensed it.

Another heartless grin manifested itself across the man's face, creeping up to his steely eyes. "Many, my dear boy. I was there the night you came back from a raid bruised, a deep gouge in your right arm and a rip in that hideous green sweater; I was there the night you paced listlessly on the front porch after the battle in Washington; I was there the night you arranged that ridiculous candlelit dinner for you and your mudblood wife. I mean really, Draco. Did I teach you no self-control? You two barely made it into the living room, the way you were ripping off that awful dress she was wearing." He clucked his tongue disapprovingly, but his eyes glinted with cruel pleasure.

Draco just continued to stare at the battered man in disbelief. "But…what about—" He caught himself before he said Dominic's name.

"What about that half-blood child of yours? Is that what you were going to say?" Lucius paused as Draco's face fell even further. "Oh yes, my boy, I know all about him."

_Somewhere in America, Four and a half years earlier_

Draco stood staring in awe at the newborn in the crib below him. For the second night in a row, he could not bring himself to sleep for fear of waking up and finding the baby gone. All of the horrors he had seen in his life and he never could have imagined all the good wrapped up in this one tiny being.

"Draco?" Hermione's drowsy voice shook him from his thoughts. "Is everything all right?" She sauntered toward him, resting her head on his shoulder as she gazed at her sleeping baby boy.

"We're fine, love. Looking at him, it's hard to believe that anything could ever be wrong again." Draco slid his arms around his wife's waist, still gazing down into the crib. Hermione leaned heavily against him and let out a contented sigh.

"If only that were true. This little boy has a lot of danger surrounding him…" She trailed off, unable to speak the awful truth of their situation.

"He also has two parents that would die to protect him. I don't even want to think about what would happen if my father knew he existed." Draco inhaled, thinking about the tainted blood this innocent infant had inherited from him. Hermione gave his hands a reassuring squeeze, craning her neck to look up at him.

"As long as we keep ourselves well hidden here, he'll never know. Listen to me," Hermione turned suddenly in his arms, taking his face in her hands. "Being a Malfoy is part of who you are, part of who our son is. Despite everything your father has done to you, you still have a good heart. You're a good man and you're going to be an even more wonderful father." He leaned forward until their noses just barely touched.

"Merlin, how did I get to be so lucky?" He kissed her gently, enveloping her in a warm, tight embrace. Kissing him softly on the cheek, Hermione nuzzled into his neck as his eyes travelled again to his sleeping little boy. It was in that one moment that he knew what he had to do, what he needed to do, to protect his family. His father could never know about him or worse, get close enough to take him away.

_Present_

Draco stood completely rigid, fists clenched at his sides, his mouth dry and agape. He couldn't seem to form any words in his head to speak.

"Don't look so surprised. You can't possibly have thought that you could hide my only grandchild from me forever." Draco tried to resist the urge to wrap his hands around the man's exposed throat as Lucius tried to look as innocent as possible. Draco pulled his thoughts back in order, his face hardening in fury.

"I don't have to hide him from you anymore. You'll never get the chance to ruin his life the way you ruined mine." Draco seethed, moving closer into the room so that he towered over his bound father. Lucius only laughed, bitterness flashing in his eyes.

"I didn't ruin your life, you ungrateful brat. You did that all on your own. If you and the other little Dumbledore-worshipping gits hadn't interfered, you wouldn't have your precious little boy: I would." As Lucius continued to sneer at him, Draco slowly brought himself down level with the heartless blue eyes of his father.

"What exactly does that mean, you unimaginable bastard?" Draco's voice came out in a dangerous whisper as the hatred began bubbling within him.

"All those years as a traitor have really dulled your wits, Draco. Do really think that _I_ would let you and that mudblood bitch raise _my_ grandson. Half-blood or not, he's still a Malfoy. No innocent child should ever be raised in such a contemptible environment." Lucius' gaze bore into Draco as he moved his face close enough that he could feel the man's stale breath against his skin.

"What did you think you would accomplish by taking my family away? Did you think that it would break me; that I'd just wallow away into nothing? You really don't know me as well as you seem to think," Draco said, a half smirk forming across his lips, though he felt none of the confidence it suggested.

Lucius only mirrored his smirk. "Oh, of course you're right. After all, you did run right after me and bring me to justice, didn't you, my boy." The Death Eater spoke as though he had planned it all along and Draco forced himself to move away, for fear of what his own anger might provoke within him.

Looking away from his father's malicious glare, Draco replied through gritted teeth, "It doesn't matter to me who caught you. The only thought I entertain is that you're in here forever, with no chance of ever seeing another sunrise or sunset. You have to breathe this horrible, stifling air for the rest your days and I get to leave this horrible place and go back to a son that actually loves me."

From the corner of his eye, he could see Lucius' face twist into a scowl and the two men sat in silence for several minutes before the elder Malfoy's low growl broke it. "You may get to walk out of this prison, but you'll never be free. You're merely a shadow of what you could have been. And for what? A mediocre shag with that bitch in a sleazy hotel room in Rome?"

Draco lifted his head back up, exchanging an icy stare with his father. He moved himself forward until his face was only millimeters from his father's, gripping his neck with just enough force to make Lucius visibly uncomfortable. The guard made to move forward, but he stopped as Draco began to speak. "Better a mediocre shag in that awful hotel room, than a lifetime of serving you." Draco felt a low rumble of displeasure vibrate against his hand, a vicious grin forming in response on his own face. "You'll never lay a hand on another Malfoy's head for as long as you live. And as for that pitiful collection of serpents you believe so superior to your own son, I'll destroy them one by one. And if any one of your little leeches comes after my son again, I'll not only bleed them dry, I'll make sure you're thrown into the deepest circle of Hell possible."

Letting go, Draco pushed himself away and gave the guard the signal to put the prisoner back under. After the guard unlocked the magical door, Draco left and headed toward the room with the waiting McGonagall, never once looking back.


	8. Question and Answer

Disclaimer: Yeah, I got nothing, no Harry Potter, no Draco Malfoy, nothing. Life is a bleak, bleak place.

_A/N: Okay, chillens. I am in a very creative and fanfiction-y mood as of late (hence the 3 chapters in two weeks). I'm finally starting to get to the good stuff in this story. It's still a ways from being completed, but this chapter marks the beginning of lots of Draco/Hermione interaction, in the present I might add. Once this one is done I have a scathingly brilliant idea (if I do say so myself :D) for a sequel. Please read and review! They make me happy and motivate me to write more. Thank you to fanfic4life and my good friend Tiniwiel for their kind reviews on the last chapter._

**Question and Answer**

The council room was quiet and empty as Draco lurched out of the fireplace. It hadn't taken Draco long to sift through McGonagall's pestering questions. Eventually, she got irritated enough with his lack of what she deemed "useful" information to just send him back up to Dumbledore's office, where Lupin stood waiting by the fireplace for the return trip to 12 Grimmauld Place.

He waited a few moments for Lupin to follow, and when he didn't, Draco left to check on Dominic and find Harry and Ron. Like the council room, the house seemed eerily quiet as Draco made his way to the study.

An involuntary smile fell across Draco's lips as he pushed open the door to the study. Dominic sat in the center of a massive array of toy cars and action figures, running the wheels of an orange V.W. Beetle across the floor, racing the blue Mustang Ron was pushing.

Nodding at Ron, Draco cleared a small spot of wood flooring next to Dominic and sat down. "Who's winning?"

Dominic scrunched his face in concentration as he revved the engine faster. "I am! Uncle Ron keeps trying to keep up, but blue isn't as fast as orange."

Draco and Ron both chuckled. "I haven't won a race yet." Ron slowed his movements with the truck as he spoke, careful not to get in the way of Dominic's car.

"Well, what about red, Dom? Is that faster than orange?" Draco asked, picking up a battered red pick up truck from the pile of toys next to him.

Dominic stopped revving and looked up at his father incredulously. "_Daddy_! Nothing's faster than orange! Red is the slowest color there is!"

Draco held his hands up in defeat. "Oh, ok. Then I give up. You win." Feigning exasperation, he set his truck noisily down in front of him.

Dominic beamed at him. "I know. I always win!" The little boy gave his father one last toothy grin and went back to his driving, pausing only to pick up the red truck to drive with his other hand.

Giving up the race, Ron tossed his car aside and looked over at Draco. "I know you just got back, but Harry said to send you upstairs if I saw you."

Draco scoffed. "What? No inquiry, Weasley? You're not going to ask how my trip was?" The pit of frustration in his heart was beginning to affect his head and Draco immediately regretted his disdain, though he made no effort to apologize for it.

"Oh, come off it, Malfoy. If you want me to know, you'll tell me regardless of whether I want to know or not." Ron said. Draco could see his ears turn a light shade of pink in anger. Draco ignored him and looked back at Dominic.

"I'll be upstairs if he needs me. I'll be back in a bit, Dom. Be good." Giving the little boy an affectionate pat on the head as he stood, Draco walked out of the room without looking at Ron. A ball of shame formed in his stomach, but he forced it down and ignored it as he made his way up to the room where Hermione was being held.

As Draco stepped off the last groaning stair into the upstairs hallway, he could see Harry standing in front of the charmed portrait, arms crossed, gazing into the room beyond. Draco walked carefully over and stood next to him.

"She's talking." Harry blurted, "Ginny went in to bring her breakfast after you left and Hermione just started speaking." Harry turned to look at Draco, who only blinked back at him for a few moments.

"What has she said? Does she remember anything?" Draco asked, a tinge of blind hope edging his voice.

Harry only shook his head dolefully. "Just mindless chattering." Harry laughed suddenly, causing Draco to stare at him in confusion. "She's been here for three days and all of a sudden she wants to know everything. Just like…" Harry's words trailed off and Draco saw him swallow hard, unable to finish his sentence.

"Just like Hermione." Draco finished with a sad smile.

"So, what did you find out?" Harry asked, looking back through the portrait.

Draco crossed his arms and stared across the room at the two women. "He wasn't really after Hermione, at least not entirely. He wanted Dominic."

At that affirmation, Harry dropped his arms to his sides and turned to look at Draco in astonishment. "But you said…"

Draco shook his head. "I know, but I was wrong. Snape must have shown up before his men had time to go back for Dominic."

Harry's face fell in worry. "You don't think they're still after him, do you?"

Draco shrugged heavily. "I don't know. My father wanting Dom was something of personal importance, so I don't think they'd still be looking for him. Then again, there really isn't anyway to be certain."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but changed his mind. Both men turned at the sound of the bedroom door opening behind them. Ginny came through it, her cheeks painted a flustered pink.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, his brow furrowing in concern. Without answering, she just walked to Harry and wrapped her arms gratefully around his neck. Draco stood awkwardly for a few moments, trying not to look at them, until Ginny let go and faced him.

Her voice was shaking as she spoke. "She asked for you, Draco."

_12 Grimmauld Place, 7 years earlier_

"Hermione? Dear, it's Minerva. Please let me come in and take a look at you." Professor McGonagall said, rapping tersely on the faded bedroom door. The muffled sounds of sobbing carried through the wood in reply.

Ron tried to hide the smile in his voice as he stepped forward to speak. "Come on, Hermione, it can't be _that_ bad. It can't be any worse than the cat hair fiasco."

Her voice came thundering back at him. "Shut up, _Ronald_. It is _way_ worse that that. _No_ one is looking at me, ever."

Ron placed his hand over his mouth to stifle his chuckles as Harry stepped forward for his turn. "Now really, Hermione. It's just us out here. You have to get that looked at. At least let Ginny in to try and heal you."

His only reply was a curt, loud "No!" Ron, Ginny, Harry and McGonagall stood in silence for a few moments, exchanging helpless glances. They all turned simultaneously at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.

"How is she?" A panicked looking Draco asked as he reached the group.

"Took you bloody long enough to get here, _Malfoy."_ Ron said, with a look of indignation.

"Sod off, Weasley. I came from the manor. I couldn't come until I was sure I could get out safely."

Harry ignored their spat and answered Draco's question. "She won't come out or let any of us in. She was hit with some sort of disfiguration hex at the raid this morning."

Looking from Harry to the door, Draco stepped forward and knocked gently. "Hermione, it's Draco. Come on, sweetheart. You've got to let Ginny in to take a look at you." He could hear her sniffling through the door.

"I just can't stand to have anyone see me like this. It's just so…hideous." Her voice broke and he could hear her start sobbing again.

"You could never be hideous, love. At least let me in. I don't think I can survive never seeing you again." He stood still, listening to the sounds beyond the door. After a few moments, he heard the soft click of the lock and the door opened a crack. He pushed the door open just enough to slip into the room and shut it behind him.

Hermione sat on a chair in the corner of the room, facing away from him. Slowly, she turned and Draco had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Oh, Hermione. It's not that bad." Her face was covered in shiny, red bumps and her skin was a horrible shade of purple.

"Yes it is!" She sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. Draco moved forward and knelt down in front of her, pulling her hands away. "Good grief, Granger. I never would have pegged you as the superficial type. What happened to your superior common sense? This isn't going to go away by you hiding yourself in this awful room forever."

She scoffed at him, ripping her hands away. "Oh, right, I forgot. _You're_ the looks and _I'm_ the brains," she paused, looking down at her purple hands, "You wouldn't understand, Malfoy."

Draco tried to curb his frustration with her as he reached for her hands again. "You know better than that, Hermione Granger. I'm here, aren't I? If I can love you like this, doesn't that say something to you?"

She studied him for a moment, squinting at him in the dimly lit room. "Fine. Ginny can come in. But just her."

Draco smiled at her. "That's my girl." He got up and made his way back to the door. As her reached for the doorknob, her voice stopped him.

"And Draco?" He turned and raised an eyebrow at her. "For the record, I'm okay with you being the looks." She smiled at him and he laughed, opening the door to call in Ginny.

_Present_

"She asked for me? But she doesn't know…" Draco's sentence trailed off as he looked at the drained Ginny curiously.

"No, she doesn't remember who you are, but she knows what you are to her." Draco's eyes narrowed at her as she continued. "She asked me if she was married and I couldn't very well lie to her. She wants to talk to you." She looked back into the room with a sad smile. "I need a break anyway. She's exhausting with all those questions she's been spewing. Go ahead, Draco. I told her I'd send you in."

Draco looked across the room at Hermione, who studyied her surroundings as she waited for him. He took a deep breath and turned toward the door Ginny had just come through. As he entered, she looked up at him and he stopped halfway across the room, waiting for her to say something.

"Sit down. I don't bite, at least I don't think I do." She motioned to the chair across from her and he sat down, offering her a hesitant smile. "So, how long have we been married?"

Draco flinched at the bluntness of her question. "Well, technically, six years." He stared at her, finding it increasingly difficult to look her in the eye.

"And how long have we known each other?" Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat as her questioning eyes burned into him.

"Since we were eleven. Though I didn't particularly like you until we were seventeen." He straightened himself in the chair as a sudden sense of composure fell over him. If he couldn't have his Hermione back, the least he could do was make this one understand who she used to be.

"I see. Was I really that annoying or did I just have some kind of girl germ?" Her lips twitched into a small smile as she waited for his answer.

"Not exactly. You were just the wrong 'sort' for a long time. A wrong side of the tracks tale and all that." Draco cocked his head at her, studying her expression as it changed to one of mild understanding.

She brought her knees to her chest on the bed and rested her head on them. "So, we've been married for six years. How long were we together before that?" She asked, her tone detached, but interested.

Draco looked up for a moment, as if counting in the air, before replying. "Five years."

She nodded and looked at him for a moment, as if she were trying to decide whether or not to say something. "So, technically, we've been together for eleven years?" Draco nodded, continuing to stare at her in shrouded awe. "Wow. Eleven years and I have no recollection of any of it."

Draco looked down at his hands, a period of awkward silence passing between them.

"Draco?" She asked tentatively after a bit. His spine tingled at the sound of her saying his name.

"Yes, love?"

"Did we ever have any children?"


	9. Dentistry and Jellied Toast

_Hey, guys. Sorry it's taken me so long to update. It's been a busy summer and a busy school year. I've decided not to do the rewrite just yet. I'm going to finish the story and then do a major edit when I have the will and the time. Anyway, hope you enjoy and please review; I could use the encouragement right now._

**Dentistry and Jellied Toast**

Draco shifted uncomfortably in the cold wooden chair as he opened his mouth to answer Hermione's impossible question, then changed his mind and closed it again.

"Oh, come on. I'm not a child. Just give me an honest answer," Hermione said, her voice gentle, but firm.

Draco marveled at her assertiveness for a moment before sitting up straight again. "Yes. His name is Dominic." Draco studied her, waiting for her reaction.

Her face twisted into an unreadable expression before she simply replied, "Oh."

Draco pulled the chair closer to the bed and reached his hand toward her. She flinched backward away from him and he pulled his arm back. She wrapped her arms protectively around her knees and pulled them to her. "How old is he?"

Draco tried his best to look interested in his hands as he answered her. "He'll be five in August."

"Does he look like me?" Her words came out in a squeaky voice Draco had never heard before. It was so…meek and vulnerable.

Draco smiled down at his hands. "Not really. He's a lot like you in every other way though." Draco heard a stifled sob come from her direction and he forced himself to look up.

"Hermione…" Draco tried reaching out for her again, gently setting his hand on her exposed foot. The warmth of her skin sent a tingling sensation down his spine and he shuddered.

"That poor little boy!" She sobbed, wiping furiously at the tears that had begun trailing down her cheeks.

Draco moved his hand up and rested it on arm. "No one's expecting anything of you, Hermione." As he watched her, he immediately realized the error of his statement.

"No one is expecting anything of me? That's complete bollocks and you know it! You want me to be her. You all want me to be this woman that I can't even remember. I'm not Hermione. I'm not!" Her voice rose to a shout as she finished her sentence causing Draco to move away.

"I…I jus—" Draco started, trying to explain all of thoughts tangled in the jungle of confusion in his head.

Hermione scoffed, cutting him off, "You nothing. We're finished here. Bring that other one back…what was her name? Jenny? The redheaded woman. I want to speak with her now."

Draco sat with his mouth agape as he tried to process her cold, heated orders. Slowly, he closed his mouth and let an angry scowl twist his lips. "Fine, I'll bring _Ginny_ back in here, but don't yell at her. You're already wearing her out as it is."

Draco pushed his chair back and stormed out quickly, gritting his teeth as she snorted in reply behind him. Harry stood waiting for him as he came back out the door, an irritating look of pity and concern plastered across his face. "Don't you dare start with me."

Harry just shook his head and gazed back into the room for a moment. "Fine, as long as you remember that it's not just up to you to fix this. We all love her."

Draco sniffed in retort. "Where's Ginny?"

"Downstairs in the kitchen eating supper with Dominic."

Draco nodded stiffly and wheeled back around toward the stairs. He made it only two steps when a new and troubling thought dawned on him and he turned back toward Harry. "Does her mother know?"

Harry turned to look at him in surprise, his face falling, "No." He added in a guilty panic, "This has caught us all by surprise and when it came down to telling her mother or you, we chose you." Harry's shoulders slumped heavily as he continued, "None of us knew how to tell her."

Studying him closely, Draco could see for the first time since his return to London how exhausted and disheveled Harry looked. The black robe he wore was badly wrinkled and the clothes he wore beneath it looked no better. His green eyes were heavy from lack of rest and his face seemed permanently creased with worry. "I'll do it. If I think it's safe enough, I think I may arrange for Dominic to stay with her right now anyway. He won't last much longer cooped up like this and I know that it won't be long until he starts asking questions."

Harry looked back at Draco with understanding and Draco gave him a half-hearted smile before he descended the stairs, calling out behind him, "Get some sleep, Potter."

_Christmas, Ten years prior_

"Hermione! Stop pulling me along! Where are we going?" Draco asked, wrenching his arm away from her.

"You said you wanted to meet me for an, what was that phrase you used again? Oh, 'oral dueling session.' Any dueling that happens has to happen here," she stated, placing her hands sternly on her hips.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I know, but at your parents' tooth-cleaning-whatever-Muggles-call-it place? How romantic, Granger."

She stepped closer to him, drawing herself up to match his indignation. "Well, Casanova, it's either this or you go back to your father's Death Eater banquet, where the only love you'll get will be drunk in the closet with Pansy Parkinson."

Hermione cocked a playful eyebrow at him. "Okay, okay. Let's just get in there before someone catches us." Draco held out his hand to her and she accepted it, pulling him up the few steps to the door.

"And besides, it's been ages since the sofa in the waiting room has seen a good snog," Hermione whispered as she unlocked the door.

Draco let out a short laugh, stopping abruptly as he realized what she had said. "Wait, how would you know?" Hermione only laughed, grabbing his tie and pulling him inside.

_Present_

Draco found Ginny and Dominic in the basement kitchen laughing as Fred and George entertained them with some contraption that yelled insults at any person who tried to turn on the kitchen faucet. All four of them turned to look at him as he entered.

"Well, we'll leave you to it then," said Fred as George turned back toward Dominic and handed him a brown paper sack.

"These are our newest flavor, Dominic. Even louder than the ones we sent you for Christmas." And with one last wink to the little boy, both men swept out of the kitchen.

Ginny took the paper sack from Dominic before he could dig his hands into it. "After supper maybe."

Draco smiled at Dominic and moved to stand behind the chair across from Ginny. "What's for supper?" Dominic looked up at him mid-chew and held up a small piece of toasted bread.

"Jellied toast and carrots. I'm afraid the supplies down here are dismal at best for the moment," Ginny answered, "but I can fix you some if you're hungry."

Draco shook his head. "I'm all right. Dom and I are going to take a walk into London to visit his grandmother." Ginny locked her eyes on to his own with a somber look questioning the safety of the idea.

"Grandma Granger? She makes the best choc' late chip cookies ever!" Exclaimed Dominic, shoving his last bite of toast into his mouth and sliding off his chair. "I'm ready!"

Ginny laughed at him and wiped the stray specks of purple goo from his mouth and hands.

"Hey, Dom, can you go up to the drawing room and put your toys back in their bag. I need to speak with Aunt Ginny for a moment and then we'll go, okay?" Dominic grinned in response and sprinted up the staircase.

Ginny flicked her wand and the plates zoomed toward the sink and began washing themselves.

"Are you sure this is really a good idea?" Ginny faced him, leaning against the counter behind her.

"Jane's of no use to Voldemort; and walking, ironically enough, is probably one of the safest modes of transportation right now. I know he'll be safe there, at least for a little while, and this way he doesn't have to stay cooped up in here."

"Are you going to tell her?" Ginny asked, bluntly.

Draco inhaled deeply, flexing his fingers on the back of the chair in front of him. "She should know, Ginny. She'll understand, I think."

Ginny studied him for a moment before nodding and turned to reach for a stray goblet left out on the counter. She teetered a bit, catching herself on the counter. Draco surged forward to push a chair closer to her. "Are you all right? You look a little flushed."

Ginny only dismissed it with a casual wave of her hand, though Draco could see exhaustion on her face that rivaled Harry's. "I've just been a little under the weather lately."

Ginny looked up at him with a small smile and Draco simply cocked a knowing eyebrow at her. "Does Potter know?"

She sighed in defeat. "Yes, but no one else. We were waiting for the right time." Draco only nodded and turned to leave.

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and glanced back at her with a small, but sincere smile. "Congratulations." Ginny returned his smile and he continued back up the stairs to fetch Dominic.


	10. The Prodigal Son in Law Returns

_Hola! Long time no see! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I hope you like it. This is the first chapter without a flashback, so let me know what you think. As always, I love reviews, they make me smile :)_

**The Prodigal Son-in-Law Returns**

Draco always held the utmost respect for his mother-in-law. Jane Granger was nobody's fool; that was something Hermione definitely got from her. She was also an excellent judge of character and one of the few people in this world that saw him as his own person and not as heir to the Malfoy legacy.

As he stood in from of the bright blue door of the flat she lived in, Draco had never been so afraid of her. He was shaken from his thoughts by an incessant tugging at his right side.

"Are you going to knock?" Dominic looked up at him quizzically and Draco nodded back.

He rapped sharply three times and waited for Jane to answer. A muffled "Just a minute!" came from inside followed soon after by the door opening.

"Can I hel—Draco?" Jane stared at him in stunned silence for a few moments before Dominic broke it with an excited exclamation.

"Grandma!" He shrieked, running to her and wrapping his small arms around her waist.

"Oh, my! And my favorite grandson, too? Look at how much you've grown!" She replied, bending down to return his hug. "It's wonderful to see you, as well, my dear. You look exhausted." She reached out and enveloped Draco in a tight, welcoming hug that he gratefully accepted.

"We should get off the street" was all he said and Jane nodded in understanding, taking Dominic's hand with a reassuring smile and leading through the house into the kitchen.

"You just sit down at the table and I'll start us some tea. And you, young man," she said, turning toward Dominic, "I have something very special for you in the spare bedroom."

"Ooh, is it a birthday present? Daddy never lets me open my presents early," he replied with a half pout.

"I think we can make an exception just this once," Draco said with the special smile he reserved only for his son. Dominic squealed with delight and followed his grandmother up the stairs.

Jane returned a few minutes later; pulling the boiling tea kettle off of the stove, she fixed them each a cup of tea and took the seat across from Draco.

"All right, out with it. You wouldn't be back in London unless something serious happened. It's not to do with your father, is it? He hasn't escaped?" Worry creased her face as she looked across the table at him.

"She's alive," he blurted. Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Who's alive?" The last bit of her sentence was swallowed by a gasp. "That can't be! You saw her; they told us she was dead."

Draco only shook his head. "I know, I know. I said the same thing. But, I've seen her; talked to her even. The Order has her." Draco stared into his cup of cooling tea. Jane leaned back into her chair.

"Well – I…how is she? Is she hurt? Where was she all this time?" Her face flushed with color as she tried to find her way through the web of emotions raging through her head. Draco knew just how she felt.

"It's a complicated jumble of facts and falsehoods right now. They found her during a raid of the catacombs last week in Paris. She doesn't remember anything – or anyone – just the torture. She wasn't even speaking until this morning." Draco took a half-hearted sip from his tea.

Jane studied him for a moment, her brow furrowed in confusion. "You said you spoke to her?"

Draco nodded. "She started asking Ginny all these questions about her life this morning during breakfast. Ginny told her she was married."

Jane let out a heavy sigh then looked up at him. "Does she know about Dominic?"

Draco swirled his finger around in his tea as he looked back at her. "Yes. She wanted to know everything." He looked back up at her. "I never could lie to her, even before we were married." A smile flittered across his lips and quickly disappeared.

"You were probably right to do that," she paused and looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back at him decisively, "I want to see her, Draco."

Draco pushed his cup aside and leaned forward in his seat a bit. "I know and I'm working on it, but you have to understand the danger involved here. We can't bring you to headquarters, it's too risky and the less you know about the Order, the better. And we can't exactly bring her here, but I promise we'll find someway for you to see her."

Jane cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "And what about Dom? He can't stay cooped up in that house forever."

"I know, that's actually why I came here. I was hoping you'd take him…just for a few days, just so he can be out of the house and away from that mess while we try to sort things out." Draco opened his eyes a little wider as he looked back at her, unable to read the expression on her face.

"I'd love to have him here, you know that, but you have to tell him eventually. He's going to start asking questions soon." She poured herself a few more drops of tea and busied herself stirring it.

"And I'm going to, but only when she's ready to meet him. He won't understand if I tell him she's alive, but that he's not allowed to meet her." Draco stared out the window over the sink for a moment at the swirls of pink and orange as the sun slowly fell in the sky. He could feel the intensity of the gaze she had fixed on him, but she did not push him further, only nodded in agreement.

"I should get back. The less attention I draw here, the better. Given the circumstances, owls would be too dangerous a form of communication. I know I'll only be gone for a few days, but if you need me or something is wrong, Dominic knows how to reach me. I'll ask Ginny to drop in, one or twice just in case." Draco pushed the chair back and lifted his saucer and cup to carry them to the sink.

Jane followed him and turned him to face her. "Don't do this alone, Draco Malfoy. This is more than even you can handle." She squinted up at him until he gave her a half smile.

"I should say goodbye to Dom and be off."

Draco found himself scrambling to get ready the next morning, after waking up far later than he had intended. He wanted to catch Harry to talk about Jane before the meeting. He was still buttoning the last few buttons of his shirt as he rushed into the study. The sight that greeted him caused him to falter for a moment. "Hermione?"

She was curled up on the couch under a blanket with one ginger-colored cat on her lap and the other desperately trying to get her attention. She jumped at the intrusion. Draco relaxed a bit and took the time to fasten his remaining buttons.

"Sorry. I was just so tired of being shut up in that dreary room." Her eyes leisurely scrutinized his face for a reaction and he smiled warmly in response.

"No, the Blacks weren't really cheery decorating type of folk." Draco sat down on the other end of the couch and looked around the room.

"Ginny said it would be all right if I waited in here. She's going to bring me in for the meeting." She looked back at Draco for unnecessary approval and he nodded, flinching inwardly at their cordial tone.

"I see you've been making friends." Draco motioned to the two cats.

The corners of her mouth curled up in a small, sincere smile; his breath caught in his throat at the lightning bolt that hit his heart. "This big guy was napping in here when I came in and promptly resettled himself on my lap. And this beautiful little kitten," Hermione cooed, picking up the second of the ginger felines," wandered in shortly after." The kitten mewed at the attention, squirming a bit before settling into her arms. "They look so much alike. Are they related?"

Draco tried to blink away the surrealism of the situation as he cautiously edged a bit closer to her on the sofa. "Well, the one on your lap is called Crookshanks and that one is his daughter, Briseis." At the mention of her name, Briseis perked her creamy, speckled head up at them, wriggling herself from Hermione's grip to come closer to Draco. "Actually, Crookshanks was, well, is yours. After you," he swallowed the threatening knot forming at the back of his throat, "disappeared, we lost track of him. Until last Spring, that is, when he turned up here. Ginny and Harry took him home where he made friends with their cat, Cleopatra. Around Christmas their flat was over run with kittens, so they sent one to Dominic as a present." Briseis rubbed up against his thigh affectionately and Draco scratched behind her ears.

Both adults fell into silence, two strangers on a musty orange couch, petting the cats to avoid the mountain of history between them. Finally, Hermione looked over at him. "I'm sure I used to be good at this, but for now I'll just have to ask: what are you thinking?"

Draco looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I was just thinking about how ridiculous it seems that I'm sitting two feet from my wife and all I can talk about are the cats."

Hermione looked at him for a moment and then burst into a fit of giggles. Draco stared at her in confusion, and then felt the corners of his own mouth pull up, finally giving into the laughter bubbling inside him.

"You should do that more, you know," Hermione said, composing herself and looking down apologetically at an annoyed Crookshanks.

"What, lose my mind?" She shook her head.

"No, smile." Draco glanced over at her, meeting her curious gaze.

"You're so unfamiliar to me. Yet, I still feel like I know you," she whispered, almost to herself. Draco swallowed hard as she reached up and gently brushed away a lock of silvery blond hair that had fallen across his swimming blue eyes. Before he could stop himself, he caught her hand, kissing her palm lightly and gaping back at her.

Ron burst into the room, causing both of them to bolt apart. "Malfoy, you're bloody late and I—oh, um, hello. Sorry." Ron stood in the doorway, staring at Hermione. "We're waiting for you so we can start." He didn't wait for an answer, but turned and scurried out into the hall.

"He's strange, that one, isn't he?" Hermione mused.

Draco smirked at her. "I won't argue with that. You'll be all right until Ginny gets here?" She nodded, snuggling back down into the sofa.

Draco was met by a dozen pairs of waiting eyes as he entered the conference room. Harry, Ron, Lupin and Dumbledore all sat at one end of the table whilst a few new faces also joined them. He nodded politely at Molly and Arthur Weasley and he sat down in between an exhausted looking McGonagall and a tattered, battle worn Bill Weasley.

Snape's absence did not escape his attention and Draco looked at Lupin, who understood his question. "We thought it would be best if Severus was left out of these proceedings."

Dumbledore cleared his throat officially and tried to straighten his aged, twisted old body. "This gathering of The Order of the Phoenix is officially open. This meeting has been called to build a cooperative plan for the care and handling of Hermione Malfoy. As she seems to be in a stable frame of mind after the great ordeal she's been through, I feel it is only fair that she be allowed to participate and contribute." The old wizard crooked a mangled finger at the door and Ginny entered, followed closely by Hermione.

The air in the room closed in around the table and the chorus of chairs creaked under of the nervous shifting of the congregation. If Hermione noticed, she made no sign of it and simply sat down next to Ginny, near Dumbledore and Alastor Moody. The room hung in squirming silence for a few moments until finally Dumbledore thought it best to begin.

"I don't see any benefit to easing into this so we might as well just dive in. The reality is that, while there may always be a chance that your memories may return, Hermione, the prognosis for it happening anytime soon holds no such optimism." Though he was listening, Draco's eyes wandered to Hermione, leaving him unable to persuade them back to Dumbledore. She only nodded, signaling them to continue.

"What we would like to do, with your permission, of course, is perform a simple memory exploration charm on you." Lupin stated, pausing for a moment to glance between Dumbledore and Moody. In unison, Harry, Ron and Draco all leaned forward, suspicion falling like a dark curtain across their faces.

"You want to invade her mind?" Ron asked, his voice edged with astonishment.

"It's not as crass and invasive as it sounds. A short grace period will be given in the hopes that her memories will return, but given the immediacy of the situation, this matter must be decided quickly and cooperatively." Lupin folded his hands seriously on the table in front of him in punctuation to his speech.

"How long of a grace period are we talking about? A month? Two weeks?" Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously as he spoke.

Lupin started to speak, but was abruptly cut off by the bulleted words of Moody. "Three days." Draco's eyes went from steel to ice as he glanced between the resolute men at the end of the table and the disbelievingly faces of Ron and Harry across from him.

"3 days? She hasn't even been here that long and you're only going to give her another three days?" Harry's fist hit the table, sending a ripple of vibrations across the top.

"Surely we can wait at least a week, Alastor. Memory invasion is not something to be entered into hastily." Arthur Weasley reasoned, a lilt of desperation in his voice.

Lupin shook his head, signaling Moody not to speak again. "I know this seems drastic, but the clock is ticking. We have no way of knowing how much the Death Eaters know about Hermione and the raid. The longer we wait, the more of an advantage we give the enemy."

"This is not just any subject we're talking about here; Hermione is family, Remus," Molly Weasley said. Harry and Ron followed in her sentiments, the room erupting into a jumble of frustrated words. Draco opened his mouth to join in the protest, but promptly closed it again. His gaze fell to Hermione, at the tears leaving salty trails down her flushed cheeks, her jaw clenched dangerously until suddenly she could stand it no longer.

"ENOUGH!" She bawled over the commotion. The shouts fell heavily around them, leaving behind shards of shocked silence. She opened her mouth to speak again, but only a frustrated gasp escaped as she scampered out of the room, standing up so fiercely that she knocked her chair backward.

Reacting instinctively, Draco pushed his chair back loudly, jogging out after her. She hadn't made it far and he watched her slide down the grey, cheerless walls of the entrance hall. He knelt down beside her, his knees hitting the floor boards with a hard crack.

"Please let me do something? Let me help," Draco pleaded, lifting her chin up to look at him.

She pulled away and looked back angrily. "What? What can you possibly do? I went from being one side's prisoner, to being the other side's hostage. Can you fix that, Draco? Can you make that go away?" She looked down at the weathered floor of the kitchen, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

Draco thought for a moment and then held out his hand to her. "Do you trust me?"

That's all. The next chapter is one I've been waiting to write for a long time, so please stay tuned for that. Please review, they make me happy!


	11. A Lesson in Memory

Hello, everyone! I know it's been forever and a day since I updated this story. I'm sorry, I sort of hit a road block for a while, but now I'm back on track. I hope it was worth the wait – please, please review!

**A Lesson in Memory**

"Do you trust me?" Draco repeated. Hermione opened her mouth to answer as Ron and Harry ran into the room.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. We won't let them do this." Harry moved next to Draco, as he got up off his knees.

"Yeah, they can't do this to you." Ron paced behind the two men, color creeping into his cheeks.

Hermione stood up, causing everyone to step back in surprise.

"I think I need some air," she said, locking eyes with Draco.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ron said, shaking his head.

"I'm not a prisoner and I'm going for a walk." Defiance edged her every syllable as she brushed passed them into the hallway. They followed.

Harry beat her to the front door, stepping between her and it. "At least let someone go with you."

She pursed her lips and brushed a stray curl out of her face.

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms, "Draco can come with me."

Draco blinked at her, glancing at Harry, who only nodded at him.

"All right, just don't go far. If you're not back in half an hour, we're coming after you."

Draco followed Hermione out into the damp morning sunshine. The air smelled of leaves and rain.

As they reached the sidewalk, she grabbed his arm.

"Draco." Her voice was small, but steady. "Get me out of here."

Her chocolate brown eyes seared into him, pleading but resolute. Draco turned to face her.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

_London, 2 years earlier_

Draco carried the last of the boxes into the house, setting it on the floor of the sitting room next to the others. Dominic lay on the couch a few feet away, snoring softly. He kissed his forehead and made his way to the kitchen.

"Jane?" He called softly.

He heard a sniffle, followed by a shaky intake of air. He found her at the table tracing the letters of her husband's dental certificate.

"That the last of it?" She asked, rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

He nodded and sat down across from her.

"You know, I still remember the day we bought the office. I hated it. Who ever heard of a three floor dental practice?" She looked up at him.

Draco smiled at her in encouragement and leaned back in his chair.

She took a deep breath and continued, "The exam rooms were tiny, the offices even tinier. But Jeremy was so excited to finally be able to open a practice of our own and it was all we could afford."

Her lip quivered and a single tear slid down her cheek. "I never thought I'd have to give it up." Her eyes slid closed. "Oh, Draco," she sobbed.

He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "I know."

"First my husband, then my daughter, and now my business? I don't think I can bear it."

He reached for her other hand. "Jane, look at me, please." She offered him a watery gaze.

"I know I'm not much and that I'm not here nearly often enough, but you still have me." His gray eyes studied her and she gave his hands an affectionate squeeze.

"And for that I'm grateful." Her lips curled into a soggy smile, which he returned.

"And as long as you keep him well supplied with cookies and kisses, you have Dominic."

She laughed, giving his hands a pat and pushing her chair back to stand up. "Oh, I think I can handle that. I just wish I didn't have to give up my practice."

She took her tea cup to the sink and he picked up a picture of a ten year old Hermione, proudly displaying her new braces. Her dark eyes shimmered and her hair stuck up in unruly curls around her face.

He swallowed the knot forming in his throat, turned the picture over and placed it back on the pile. Another piece of Hermione, another pile of hollow memories and happier times.

_Present_

Draco stood at the bottom of the few short steps to the familiar faded orange door.

"Have I been here before?" Hermione asked, squinting at building in front of them.

A sad smile tugged at his mouth. "Once or twice."

Her brow furrowed for a moment, staring up at the chipped paint and sun-washed brick.

Draco tried to shake away the memories as he walked up the steps, pulling a key out of his back pocket. The lock protested, but eventually gave in and the door creaked open. A thick wave of musty air engulfed them as they stepped into what used to be the waiting room of Hermione's parents' dental practice. Draco's eyes lingered over the yellowing dust cover that hid the lumpy purple couch. He swallowed hard.

Draco shut and locked the door behind them as Hermione scanned her new surroundings.

"We should get away from the windows," Draco said, holding open the door to the back rooms. Hermione nodded, wrapping her sweater tighter around her.

Hermione moved ahead of him, running her fingers across the peeling Daisy wallpaper. "I love daisies," she sighed, "I remember daisies."

She stopped to squint at the remnants of a toothpaste poster on one of the closed doors. "What is this place?"

Draco opened a heavy oak door to their left and looked back at her. "It used to be your parents' dental practice."

Hermione moved passed him through the door and Draco turned on the desk lamp and shut the door behind them.

"My parents?" Hermione asked, running a finger through the dust on the empty desk.

Draco pulled the graying sheet off the office couch and replied absently, "Do you want to talk about this?"

Hermione settled herself into the royal blue cushions and nodded. Draco leaned against the desk, crossing his arms.

"Your father died about ten years ago. He had cancer." Draco looked at the ground as he spoke.

"Oh." Hermione stretched her hands out in her lap and studied them for a moment. "And my mother?"

Draco smiled at her. "She's fine. After your father died, she tried to keep the practice running by herself, but it just got to be too much. She sold it a couple of years ago."

"Sold it? Then who owns it now?"

"I do."

Hermione cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

"She sold it to a young dentist from Glasgow, but that fell through at the last minute and I stepped in. She doesn't know and I've never had the heart to tell her."

They stared at each other in silence until she looked away, pulling at a piece of thread on her sweater.

"You two are close?"

He slid up onto the desk, sitting on his hands. "I guess you could say that. For a long time, she and I have been the only family we have left."

"And she still lives in London?"

He moved to sit down opposite her on the couch. "Not far from here actually."

He could see her swallow and shift to look at him. "Does she know, you know, about me?"

"She does. I saw her yesterday."

"Yesterday?" She squinted at him in confusion.

He slid a few inches closer to her. "I thought it would be best for Dominic to stay with her rather than at the manor."

"Wow," she mused, an ironic smile on her face.

Draco shrugged. "What?"

"They're so close." He watched as her smile slowly fell and a steady stream of tears made their way down her cheeks. He watched a drop fall onto her hand as she started shaking with sobs.

He pulled her to him. "Shh. Hey, it's okay."

His fingers ran through her hair and drank in her scent. Her fingers gripped his shirt and he could feel her tears beginning to soak through on his shoulder.

Suddenly, she pushed him away and began feverishly wiping at her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

His sparkling grey eyes studied her. "Hey, whether you remember or not, you're still my wife."

She laughed, sniffling softly. "Thanks."

"My pleasure," he said, tucking a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. "Let me see if I can find us some blankets.

He stood up and made his way to the door.

"Draco, wait…"

She bit her lip and he smiled at her. "I'll be right back, I swear."

She shook her head and walked over to him. Draco felt his throat parch as she moved closer. "Hermione, I…"

Hermione placed a finger over his mouth to quiet him. She nuzzled her face into his neck.

"Help me remember," she whispered, her breath wet and warm against his skin.

"Remember what?" He swallowed hard as she looked up at him.

"You." She pulled him in, her lips crashing into his.


	12. From Better to Worse

Hello, all! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and as always, comments are love. Please let me know what you think!

**From Better to Worse**

Draco awoke in the dark to find himself alone. A lightning bolt of panic struck through him as he realized that Hermione no longer lay next to him.

He pulled his pants back on and stood still, listening for any sound in the neighboring rooms. Through the open door, he could just barely make out a shuffling sound somewhere above him.

He made his way up the stairs to the second floor. All of the doors down the hallway were shut save for one. At the very end of the hall, one door was cracked just enough to let a sliver of moonlight spill into the dusty corridor.

Draco took the few steps to the open door and pushed it open slowly. Hermione sat on the floor sifting through piles of yellowing newspaper clippings and old pictures. She glanced up at him and the sight of her sitting on the floor in nothing but his sweater forced a smile across his lips.

"What did you find?" He asked.

She held up a clipping from _The Daily Prophet_ with a picture of Harry and Ron standing guard over a bound Lucius Malfoy. "You kept all of these?"

He took it and slid down onto the floor across from her. "Yeah, I guess I did. I forgot these were up here."

Lucius' mouth twisted into a horrible snarl and Draco looked away.

Hermione took the picture back and read the caption. "Malfoy? Is he related to you?"

"He's my father," Draco muttered, clearing his throat.

"What happened to me, Draco?" Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight and he sucked in a deep breath of stale, musty air.

"Hermione…"

She placed her hand over his and stared at him. "Please?"

He sighed through his nose and tucked a stray strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. "After we got married, we moved to America."

She studied him as he spoke. "Why America?"

"We thought it would be safer," Draco said. He looked down at the dusty floor, his face hardening. "He found us anyway."

Hermione looked back down at the photo. "Your father?"

Draco nodded. "He killed you right in front of me." The last part of his sentence got caught in his throat and he took in a shaky breath. She grabbed both of his cheeks and gave him a warm kiss on the forehead. He kissed her palm and she moved back to her spot on the floor across from him.

She cleared her throat. "Do you have any pictures of Dominic?"

Draco's forehead furrowed for a moment scanning the boxes on the shelves above him.

"Oh, wait," he said, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. "This was a picture from his last birthday." He held it open and handed it to her.

She stared at the photo thoughtfully and smiled back at Draco, a tear slipping down her cheek. "You weren't kidding, he really does look like you."

Draco chuckled softly. "That's where the resemblance ends. He's so much like you with his incessant questions and his stubbornness. He got the best of both of us."

She flipped to the next photo and Draco saw her flinch. The photo showed a younger Draco and Hermione standing together in front of one of their houses in America, smiling at one another. "We were really happy together, weren't we?" She marveled, running her thumb over the picture.

Draco nodded, crossing his arms and staring at the ground. They sat in silence for a few moments before Hermione finally broke it.

"They're probably worried about us," she said, pulling her knees up to her chest and covering them with Draco's sweater.

"Yeah…"

He heard her inhale. "We should go back."

He looked back up at her. "You sure?"

She nodded. "It's not fair to them. And me running away doesn't make any of it go away." She looked up at him and grinned. "Besides, I have a feeling running isn't really in my nature."

"No, not really." He stood up and brushed his jeans off, offering Hermione a hand up.

They made their way back downstairs in silence. As they were changing, Hermione looked suddenly toward Draco, her brow creased in worry. "I've only made things worse, haven't I?"

Draco shook his head at her in reassurance. "Better or worse, they'll just have to get over it."

Hermione smirked at him. " 'They' being Ron and Harry?"

He nodded. "For the most part."

"You don't like them very much, do you?" She asked conversationally, handing Draco back his sweater.

He shook his head again. "But they're good to Dominic. And, as much as I may hate it, they love you, too."

She nodded at him thoughtfully. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Draco started, grabbing her arm as she walked by him toward the door. "Listen, Hermione. Don't tell anyone about this place, okay?"

"I promise," she whispered with a smile that reached all the way up into her brown eyes. If she noticed the shiver it sent down his spine, she didn't show it and they headed back out onto the streets of London toward Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

_Rome, 6 years earlier_

"Hermione…" Draco whispered, trailing kisses down her cheek. "Hermione, love, I've got to go."

"Mmmmm," came her reply as she blinked herself awake. "Well, hullo my handsome husband," she said, smiling up at him.

He kissed her, long and slow. He finally forced himself to breakaway. "I have to go…"

"No," Hermione exclaimed in protest, throwing her arms around his neck.

Draco sighed into her, wrapping his arms around her. "I know."

She pushed him back down onto the bed. She leaned in close, her lips just grazing his ear. Draco closed his eyes, drinking her in as her tussled brown curls fell over his face. "How can you leave," she breathed into his ear, "if I still have your shirt?"

She grinned at him and he laughed, brushing the hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ears. "I love you, you know that?"

Her eyes glimmered in the lamplight. "I do."

A tear slid down her cheek and she pushed herself away from him. "You better get going," she said with a sniffle, "Your father is expecting you."

He nodded, kissing her quickly on the lips before heading toward the door.

"Wait, Draco, what about your shirt?"

He turned back toward her and smiled the smile he only ever let her see…the one that said he was truly and completely happy. "It looks better on you," he replied, disapparating with a resonating pop.

_Present_

The door to Number 12 Grimmauld Place appeared before them just as the dawn light peaked over the tattered eves of the house. As Draco reached to open the door, Hermione stopped him.

"Wait," she said, "I have to do something first."

She pulled him toward her, planting a warm, soft kiss on his left cheek and pulling him into a tight hug. "Thank you."

Draco opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the door swinging open to reveal a red faced Ron glowering back at him. Ron grabbed two handfuls of Draco's shirt, dragging him into the foyer where he slammed him against the faded paneling with a defiant thwack.

"What are you on, Malfoy? Kidnapping her like this?" Ron spat, his face barely a couple of inches from Draco's.

"Weasley," Draco hissed through clenched teeth, "get off me."

Ron loosened his grip just long enough to slam Draco against the wall again. "You could have both been captured. Or worse, killed! You were supposed to…"

"Supposed to what, Weasley?" Draco asked, wrapping his hands around Ron's wrists. "I don't take orders from you. My only concern is what Hermione wants."

"I asked him to take me…" Hermione began somewhere behind them. Harry interrupted her, stomping across the room, wielding his wand at Draco.

"And like it or not, Draco Malfoy," Harry started, poking his wand into Draco's neck, "This is still Phoenix headquarters. We don't solve things by running away."

Ron sneered at Draco. "But that's what you're best at, isn't it, Malfoy?"

Draco felt a surge of hot rage course through him as he tightened his grip on Ron's wrists and shoved him. Ron tumbled backward and Harry took a step back in surprise. "And what," Draco asked, sucking in a breath, "is that supposed to mean?"

Ron stood rigid, glaring back at Draco. "You're a bloody coward, Malfoy! All you've done your whole life is run."

"Ron…" Harry warned.

"I did what was best for my family, which is more than you've ever done, Weasel," Draco spat, clenching his fists to keep from hitting him. "And I didn't marry your bloody order, I married Hermione. The only loyalties I have to have are to her and to my son."

"And a brilliant job you've done at that so far," Ron spat.

Draco felt his whole body tense. But before he could grab Ron, Hermione stepped between them, shouting, "Enough!"

She gave them both a shove, forcing them to step apart from one another.

"First of all, stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here watching you all make right gits of yourselves," she chided, pausing to glance between them. "And second of all, just because I don't remember anything about my life, doesn't mean I have lost the ability to speak for myself."

Her eyes sparkled with frustration as she stared hard at each of them.

"Hermione, we didn't mean…" Harry started. Hermione held up a hand to silence him.

"You and you," she said, pointing from Harry to Ron, "I want to speak with you alone."

"And you," she said, turning toward Draco, "I'll come and find you when I'm done."

Draco let out an incensed sigh through his nose and replied, "Fine." Glowering once more at Ron, he pushed past the gathering crowd to go back to his room.

He raged through his suitcase, abusing shirts and trousers alike as he tried to find a suitable change of clothes. He tore off his shirt and tugged violently at his jeans, stubbing his toe on the bed in the process.

He shouted a curse just as a soft, familiar knock came at the door.

"I know what you're here to say and I'll tell you now, you should save your breath," Draco called through the door, pulling on a clean pair of pants.

Ginny came through the door anyway, her eyebrows raised at him. "And has that ever stopped me before?"

"I can't stay here, Ginny. I don't belong here anymore." Draco sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Well, where do you belong? Because, as far back as I can recall, it's always been with Hermione. And she's here, Draco. For better or worse, this is the only safe place for her right now." Ginny stared at him expectantly, crossing her arms.

Draco rubbed the spot on his neck where Harry's wand jabbed him. "You don't think I know that? Dammit, Ginny…"

She threw her arms up at him. "What, Draco? I'd like to think that you and I have become friends after all of these years, and as your friend, I'm telling you to get over all this woe-is-me rubbish."

Draco stared at her.

"You can do this," she said, her eyes hold onto his like a vice grip, "You have to."

She stood there staring at him, hands on her hips. Draco stared back for a few minutes. His face softened and he offered her a half-hearted smile. "Do you ever get tired of being my cheerleader?"

She smirked at him. "Well, somebody has to."

The light-hearted air that settled over the room lasted only moments before Lupin interrupted. "Draco, you must come with me, quickly."

Over the years, Remus Lupin had come to be one of the few men Draco held any sort of respect for. And he knew him well enough to know that the worried furrow and urgency in his voice did not bode well.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked as the three of them moved with all haste down the hall toward the study.

"Jane is here," he replied, opening the study door to reveal Mrs. Weasley sitting next to a distraught, sobbing Jane Granger.

"Oh, Draco!" She cried, leaping up out of her seat toward him. "He's gone. She's taken him."

Draco stared wide-eyed at her. "Where is Dominic, Jane?"

She looked up at him, her face quivering and salty wet. "She's taken him. Your mother has Dominic."


	13. The Mother of All Problems

_Hey, guys! So I realize it's been a long time...ok, years, since I've updated, but I would like to finish out this story considering how long it's been in progress. Thanks to all of you who are just coming to the story and to all of you who read the story before. Please keep in mind that when I started this story five years ago, several of the books had yet to be published. Also, some of the timing may seem off on the flashbacks because it's taken me so long to update, so please remember that this is meant to be happening in 2005. Ok, I think that's it. I hope it was worth the wait and please let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: Sadly, time has only widened the gap of ownership...everything is still JK Rowling's et al._

**The Mother of All Problems**

Draco could feel his throat close and his lungs begin to ache, as if an elephant was sitting on his chest. He stumbled backward in a daze and Lupin grabbed his arm to steady him. The jolt was just enough to bring him back to reality.

"Here, Draco, sit here for a moment," Lupin said, trying to push Draco down onto the sofa. Draco wrenched his arm away.

"How did this happen?" He choked, his eyes bearing into Jane Granger's watery orbs.

Her hands wrung the tissue she held as she tried to remember all the details. "Dominic was having a snack in the front room while I was doing the dishes. I thought I heard him speaking to someone so I went to check on him," she paused, inhaling a shaky breath. "I got to him just as he disappeared with a blond woman who looks just like you."

He reached out his hand to her and she took it with a sob. "I'm so sorry, Draco. I should never have let him out of my site.

Draco pulled her into as tight a hug as he could muster. "It's not your fault."

Jane sniffed and pulled away, dabbing her tears with a crumpled tissue.

"So what do we do now? Ginny asked, looking between Lupin and Draco.

Draco felt an eerie sense of absolute resolve settle into his bones as he looked back at her. "I have to go back."

Arthur Weasley stood up. "You can't do that. We have no idea what kind of state that place is in with your father gone."

Ginny stared at him. "It's probably swarming with Death Eaters. They're murderous under normal conditions, but you, you're a traitor, Draco. It's suicide."

Molly Weasley moved toward the door. "Ron and Harry should be here so we can figure out the best course of action."

Draco clenched his fists, his voice level. "This is not an Order matter, this is my son. Mine is the plan we'll be following."

Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to protest just as Fred and George appeared at her side.

"We know where he is," said George, slightly out of breath.

"He's at Malfoy manor," Fred finished.

"And my mother?"

Fred nodded. "She's there. Heavily guarded, or course."

"We couldn't get close enough to get an exact count, but at least fifty, plus the dementors," George said.

"Dementors?" Jane whimpered from behind them.

"We haven't numbers enough for an attack like that," Lupin said, shaking his head.

Mr. Weasley stood up, looking at Draco. "We've been trying to infiltrate the manor for years. It's too well protected."

"I really think Harry ought to be-" began Mrs. Weasley in protest.

"I'm here," Harry interrupted, "What's going on?"

Draco heard Jane gasp. He followed her gaze to where Hermione now stood between Harry and Ron, looking very much like a trapped animal."

Jane began to sob again.

Everyone stood in deafening silence for a few agonizing moments before Draco broke it.

"My mother has Dominic," he said, "And I was just about to go get him back."

"You're what!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry took a step toward him. "Draco, you can't. It's suicide."

"I can," Draco said with a defiant shrug," and I'm going to."

"Please think about this," Ginny pleaded," This could be exactly what she wants—to get you back in that house."

"I don't need to think about it. I just need my son back," Draco replied, pushing past Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Draco, what can I-" Hermione started, grabbing his arm as he passed. Draco pulled away and she stopped mid-sentence.

"You can't do anything. Just stay here with your family," Draco snapped.

She took a step toward him. "But you-"

"I," Draco interrupted, spinning around to face her, "should never have come back here."

And with that, he walked out of the house into the foggy London morning.

_Malfoy Manor, 10 years earlier_

"I just don't understand you, Draco. That Parkinson girl seems perfectly lovely," Narcissa Malfoy said, holding out her tea cup to a nearby house elf for a refill. Draco struggled to bring his mind back from his stolen time with Hermione at her parents' dental practice earlier in the evening as he shrugged at his mother.

"Pansy is fine, Mother," Draco said with a sigh. He glanced around the study, hoping his disinterest would sway his mother to a change of conversation.

He heard the clink of tea cup and saucer as she set her tea back on the silver tray. "Now, darling, I know your mind is occupied with other matters, but please take this seriously."

Draco forced himself to look back at her as she stared at him expectantly. "Take what seriously?"

His mother let out what he could only imagine was supposed to be a sigh, though it sounded more like a squeaking mouse. "I know it may not seem like it now, but one day all of this will be in your care," she paused and Draco leaned forward in feigned interest. "And when that day comes, you will need a suitable partner at your side. Someone who can play the part of the doting wife, but at the same time command the respect of your underlings and staff."

"And that sounds like Pansy to you? Believe me, she would be the furthest thing from doting," Draco scoffed.

His mother's lips pursed and she sat up straighter, like a serpent readying for a strike. "I don't believe your father would find your attitude quite so humorous, Draco. He has already been talking with Pansy's father. He assures us Pansy would be quite accepting of the match."

"I'm sure she would, but _I_ can assure _you_ I have no such interest in the matter." Draco leaned back in his chair casually, trying his hardest to convey cool disinterest. He watched his mother's cheeks flame as she opened her mouth to protest, but felt a bubble of panic when she closed it again, a wry smile curling at her thin lips.

"Why, Draco Malfoy, you sly darling, you already have someone in mind," she mused, leaning toward him as if she were about to hear a secret.

Draco moved as slowly as his sparking nerves would allow and grabbed her outstretched hand. "I promise you I have no such plan, Mother." He kissed her on the cheek and excused himself, but he could feel her eyes burning into him as he left the room. If there was one thing his mother had learned after all these years being married to Lucius Malfoy, it was how to recognize when she was being lied to—a fact Draco found equal parts unnerving and terrifying as he hurried away from her.

_Present_

Draco wasn't sure where he was headed and he knew he wouldn't get far, but it still felt good to make a decision that was totally and completely his for once. His mother was a lot of things—conniving, manipulative, vindictive—but never violent, something he took a small amount of solace in. Although all these years alone in that wretched manor had to have had some effect on her mental state, he still didn't believe Dominic would come to any physical harm in her care. So the trick was going to be getting to her without anyone else getting in the way. The second any of his father's goons saw him, he would be as good as dead...probably worse.

A gentle tug on his upper arm interrupted his thoughts and wrenched him back into the present. He stopped walking and turned around to find a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes looking at him.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, "Please let me help."

Draco sighed and crossed his arms. "You can't."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before she gave him a sudden unexpected shove. "You listen to me, Draco Malfoy. You don't get to parade my life in front of me and then shut me out of it the second things get more complicated. That is my little boy too, whether I remember him or not, and the least you can let me do is help."

Draco rubbed the spot on his chest where she shoved him and stared back at her wide eyed as she continued in a softer, less forceful tone. "You told me we were a team once and I believe you. I'm on your side." Hermione reached out and placed her hand on the inside of his wrist, her brown eyes sparkling with a familiar mix of sternness and sincerity. He felt the tension in his muscles melt and he nearly fell into her arms.

"That's our little boy out there. I can't lose him too." Draco felt his voice catch and Hermione squeezed him tighter.

"Hey, I'm here. And we'll get him back. You just tell me what you want to do and we'll figure it out." She pulled away from him just far enough to look him in the eye and for a split second he forgot she had ever been gone.

"I need a way into the manor. I don't know how you can help me with that, but I'm open to suggestions," he said, running a hand through his tussled blond locks.

Hermione paced back in forth in front of him for a few moments in thought and he couldn't help but smile at how natural it felt to stand there watching her. She stopped suddenly and looked at him. "You know the way my mind works. What would I normally tell you to do?"

Draco felt a light bulb go off and Hermione cocked her head at him. "Hermione, you're a genius. I have to find Snape."

_Thanks for reading and please review if you feel so inclined :)_


	14. Hair of the Dog

_Hey, everyone! Thanks to those who read the last chapter and added me to their story alerts. Glad to see there is still interest out there in my story. I can't wait to finish it. I hope you like the new installment. Also, I went back through and did a soft edit of all the previous chapter for errors and such...the evidence of a lot of late college nights._

_Disclaimer: Still not mine…mad props to JK Rowling though._

**Hair of the Dog**

_Order Headquarters, 6 years earlier_

Draco forced himself to open his eyes. He lay on his side on an old four poster bed in one of the spare rooms at Order Headquarters cradling his sore abdomen, trying to concentrate on breathing without cracking anymore of his ribs.

Hermione frowned down at him, worry gathering at the edges of her eyes. "I'll be fine, love. It's just a few bumps and bruises."

"You're bloody lucky to be alive," Ginny said, gently pulling Draco's arm out straight. He flinched when she finally pulled it out straight and she nodded. "Not broken, but probably sprained. Your legs are in good shape. How are your ribs?"

Draco tried to keep his breathing shallow as he answered her. "Broken."

He looked back at Hermione and saw her lip start to quiver. "Don't," he whispered, shaking his head.

Hermione bit her lip.

"This is going to hurt a bit," Ginny said, putting the tip of her wand in between two of his ribs. He could feel his bones start to shift back into place, like insects scurrying underneath his skin. Though the sensation was less than pleasant, it was nothing like what he had just been through, so he gritted his teeth and waited for it to be over.

"Okay, take a deep breath for me," Ginny said, offering him a hand to sit up. To his surprise, only a few twinges sparked from his sore muscles and he sucked in as much air as his lungs would hold.

"Ginny, you're amazing," he breathed, offering her a half smile.

"Easy, tiger. Save the sweet talk for your wife." She winked at him and he looked back at Hermione.

"How do you think I convinced them you weren't a traitor?" She said with a shrug.

"They thought I was a traitor?"

"Not everyone," Ginny said, handing a bottle of Murtlap Essence to Hermione. "He should use some of this in a hot bath. It should take most of the bruising and the ache away."

Hermione nodded. With one last reassuring look, Ginny left them alone.

"This is all my fault," Hermione said, absently tracing the flowers on the bed spread.

Draco snaked his fingers through hers and she looked back at him. "Don't you dare blame yourself. It wasn't like I was going to be able to stay there forever. This had to happen eventually."

"It didn't have to happen like this. We should have had a plan, an exit strategy to get you out. Instead, I went all starry eyed and let you convince me to elope," Hermione said, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms.

Draco let out a strained laugh. "What happened to this being your fault?"

"Just tell me we did the right thing," she said, with a sigh.

He looked at her for a few moments, squinting in the dim light of the room. "Do you love me?"

She nodded.

"Then we did the right thing," Draco said, with a shrug. They sat in silence for a few moments before Hermione raised her eyebrows at him making her brown eyes open wider.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me how we did it?"

Draco leaned back against the head board and closed his eyes. "I know how you did it."

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "How can you possibly know?"

Draco opened one eye at her and smirked. "Because I know you. Who had to drink the polyjuice potion?"

Hermione's lower lip fell into a pout. "George. He was none to pleased about having to look like you either."

Draco let out a few low chuckles and closed his eyes again. "I'm sure it was an improvement."

_Present_

No one lingered in the entrance hall when Draco and Hermione got back to the house, but he could hear the low rumbling voices carrying from the conference room down the hall. A dozen pairs of eyes looked at them when they walked into the room, silence rippling over the crowd.

"Does Snape still keep a rolling supply of polyjuice potion?" Draco asked no one in particular. Lupin nodded.

"Always. Not here though. All of the supplies are kept at Hogwarts," he said.

"Can you secure us floo?" Draco asked.

Ginny took a step forward. "What are you thinking?"

Fred and George walked up behind her and George shook his head in protest. "No. I won't do it. I refuse."

Draco smirked. "Easy, there. The potion is for me."

Arthur Weasley frowned at him. "Who are you going to use as a disguise?"

"My father."

Draco felt Hermione tense behind him and she grabbed his arm as the room erupted in protest.

"Are you insane, Malfoy?" Ron scoffed.

"They'll never fall for it." Harry said, shaking his head. Draco said nothing, but waited for them to calm down again.

"They will if I bring you with me," he said, looking Harry dead in the eyes. Harry held his gaze for a few moments before nodding.

"Do you have a plan?" Harry asked. Ginny moved in between the two of them and looked at each of them in turn, her eyes wide.

"Are you mad? Neither of you will walk back out of there alive," Ginny said, placing her hands on her hips.

"It will be enough to get me in to see my mother. She won't hurt me. And she'll make good leverage if we need it to get back out."

"You can't possibly know that, Draco. How do you know they won't just kill all four of you?" Molly Weasley asked, her voice sharp.

Draco looked at Ron in surprise when he answered his mother. "Because Lucius Malfoy is a martyr to his kind and they believe he'll be back someday. They would never kill Narcissa."

"If you take Narcissa, there will be no going back," Lupin said, his voice low, warning edging every syllable, "It will start a battle that we may or may not be able to win."

"It won't get that far. Let's discuss it at Hogwarts. We need to move on this now," Draco said, trying not to let his impatience take over.

Amid a final smattering of mumbled protests, Lupin nodded and left to make the arrangements.

_Order Headquarters, 6 years earlier_

"I don't see any other option," Minerva McGonagall said, folding her hands in her lap as she scanned all the faces gathered around her.

Hermione shook her head. "I won't live in this dreary old house the rest of my days. I need to be out there with you all, fighting the war."

"With all due respect, Ms. Granger…" Snape started.

"Malfoy," Hermione corrected. Snape ignored her.

"You made yourself a liability when you put your relationship with Malfoy above your duties to the order. Your prison is of your own making."

Draco felt the heat rising on his cheeks until he saw the look on Hermione's face. He could see the conflicted circus of emotions pouring out from her eyes and his heart beat faster. "We made a decision independent of our duties at the Order, one that I refuse to apologize for and one that we don't have to explain," Draco paused, looking down the table at Hermione with a half smile. "And I agree with Hermione. I'm not living in this house."

McGonagall let out an exasperated sigh. "You can't stay in Britain. Lucius' reach extends too far and Voldemort will have no mercy if you are caught. We can't risk putting you in that kind of danger, not to mention the extra attention it will draw to every Order and Ministry mission from now on."

Draco leaned forward in his chair, rubbing a sore spot on his arm and shrugged. "Then we'll have to leave. Voldemort's influence may reach across the world, but my father's doesn't. We're going to be in danger no matter where we are, but it would be better if we were someplace no one knows us."

"What are you suggesting, Draco?" Professor Dumbledore asked, straightening his spectacles.

"Put us somewhere as a liaison to the Order. It would be a tragic waste of resources to lock us up here for our own protection. With my knowledge of Voldemort's inner circle and Hermione's brilliance, there has to be somewhere we would be better served." Draco sucked in a deep breath through his nose and tried not to look away from Dumbledore's intense gaze. Draco exhaled when his eyes softened and the familiar twinkle returned.

"That certainly seems like a more desirable option given your intrinsic value to this organization. In fact, I have been working rather closely of late with Minister Chase in America. Would this be an acceptable solution to you, Hermione?"

If Hermione looked conflicted before, now she looked down right confounded. "Leave the Order?"

Draco shook his head and moved toward where she sat at the opposite end of the table. She turned toward him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion and sadness. "I know it's not ideal, love, but it will keep us in the fight and it will keep us safer than staying here."

A tear escaped from the pools forming under her eyes and she shook her head. "I can't just leave everybody I love here. What about my parents? What about our friends?"

Draco felt his jaw set as he stood back up and looked down at her. "You're right. I can't ask you to leave all of that."

She reached for his hand. "So we're staying?"

Draco stood for a moment staring at her hand on his before shaking his head. "I can't stay here, Hermione."

_Present_

"So let me see if I understand you correctly, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Dumbledore said, folding his hands in front of him and looking at Draco over the top of his half moon spectacles, "You want to use your father as a disguise to get you into Voldemort's headquarters using Harry as bait and then walk out with Dominic and Harry unscathed."

"They'll be expecting it to be a trick, but Harry will lend credibility. Plus, Seamus said he would get a rumor going through their radio show and some other channels that Lucius may have escaped and the ministry is trying to cover it up. By the time we get to the manor, they'll already be wondering if Lucius is on his way back," Draco explained.

The look on Dumbledore's face was somewhere between pride and skepticism as he looked back at him. "Do you think you can maintain the disguise long enough to get him out? What about your mother?"

"My father's influence is still as strong as it was the day he was captured. I only have to maintain it long enough to get us in to my mother. She won't be able to over power us both and I know her well enough to know Dominic will be with her," Draco answered. Harry nodded in agreement and Dumbledore shifted his gaze from Draco to Harry.

"And you consent to this? This is an incredible risk to take."

Harry looked at Draco and then back at Dumbledore, a familiar sense of resolve radiating out of his eyes. "Dominic is my Godson and I promised Hermione I would protect him no matter what."

Dumbledore continued to slide his eyes from one man to the other before finally giving a sharp nod. "All right, we will help you do this – mostly because I believe you will do this with or without my consent."

"Thank you, sir," Draco said, reaching his hand out to Dumbledore. The man accepted it with a warm smile and motioned toward the door. Lupin walked in with Hermione at his side and Draco smiled at her.

"Remus, please advise Severus to complete a polyjuice potion using Lucius' hair as soon as possible. In the mean time, perhaps you and Mr. Potter would like to give Ms. Granger a tour?"

"The potion should be ready soon. We really should…" Harry started.

"I know I don't know much about this stuff yet, but from what I understand of this plan, a bit of a delay would increase the anticipation of Lucius' return for these Death Eaters," Hermione interrupted, her face twisting in disdain as the last words rolled off her tongue.

Dumbledore winked at her. "I couldn't agree more, Ms. Granger. It's good to see you keeping this lot in line again."

Hermione's eyes lit up and she offered him a shy smile. "Thank you, sir."

Dumbledore smiled back and returned to his parchment.

Harry looked between them and shrugged. "Where should we start?"

"I think I know the perfect place," Draco said. He offered Hermione his arm and the three of them braced themselves for a tour of their past lives.


End file.
